Arnold Palmer is certainly one of America’s most beloved sportsman. Join him here for a quick nine.
Somewhere between his successful career and lovable charisma Arnold Palmer became an American legend. He has enjoyed the respect and admiration of several generations of golf fans for his passionate play, sportsmanship, and respect for his admirers.
David Toms was taken to the hospital and listed in critical condition after his heart rate rose dramatically while playing in the 84 Lumber Classic.
For the second time this week another professional golfer has been admitted to the hospital with a rapid rising heart rate. Meg Mallon had just enjoyed the closing ceremonies of the Solheim Cup in Carmel, Indiana when her rate climbed upwards to 290 beats per minute. To put that into perspective, cyclist Lance Armstrong during crucial stages of the Tour de France will rarely exceed 220 bpm. Yesterday after making the turn at the 84 Lumber Classic, PGA TOUR veteran David Toms was seen clutching his chest and taking a knee due to his escalated heart rate then being rushed to a hospital via helicopter where he is now in stable condition.
The Presidents Cup is around the corner and judging by the experience of the US golfers and lack thereof on the International team, the US team should come away with a victory. The problem is that advantages never seem to mean anything in Ryder or Presidents Cups.
The Presidents Cup: “The Tournament That Isn’t the Ryder Cup.” I think if you looked up the definition in the dictionary, that would be it. The Presidents Cup can’t and probably won’t ever shake that stigma. Even if it does plays second fiddle, the Presidents Cup offers some great golf after most of the season has passed. In The Numbers Game this week I’ll offer some thoughts on the players and what to expect in the biggest match play tournament… not named the Ryder Cup.
Annika Sorenstam headlines at the 2005 John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic. The American “triple-threat” will be there to try and stop her from defending her trophy.
Although Annika Sorenstam will be defending her title this week at the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic all eyes will be gravitating to the young Americans who triumphed at this year’s Solheim Cup. Annika may be the tournament favorite but triple-threats Creamer, Gulbis and Kim will probably steal the show.
Nine of the top-ten money earners will compete among the 144 tour professionals slated for the final field. The $1 million purse is smaller than at other championships but the Cystic Fibrosis Jr. Achievement Charity is a good cause. Also whenever Sorenstam is in the field you’ll most likely see the best of the best challenging in an attempt to topple her from her number-one perch.
Titleist today introduces a brand new “News” section of their site with several RSS feeds to keep users apprised of the latest.
Titleist today unveiled a new, content-rich news site and several (and we do mean several) RSS feeds to deliver information directly and immediately to customers (and without worry of spam, updating email accounts, etc.).
The new Titleist News site contains feeds for equipment categories and company news as well as other features like Ernie Els’ “On the Road with Ernie,” “Lessons from the Pros,” and “A Quick 9.”
Continue reading “Titleist Debuts Revamped News Site with RSS”
Ten Presidents Cup members tee it up just one week before the big match-play event.
With the Presidents Cup just one week away, the 84 Lumber Classic is this week’s stop on the PGA Tour. The field is very strong, including seven members from the United States team and three members from the International team. These ten golfers want to keep their golf games in great shape heading into the Presidents Cup next week. And besides, the course is one of the toughest on tour and has been rated by Golf Digest as one of the best places to play in the United States.
The Solheim Cup definitely gained at least one new fan this past weekend.
In last week’s Thrash Talk, I talked a little bit about the Ryder Cup. This week, however, I’m going to discuss the Ryder Cup’s female counterpart, the Solheim Cup. The event was this past weekend as most golf fans know, and it was honestly the first one I have ever been interested in. I have been trying to make an effort to get more involved in watching women’s golf, and the Solheim Cup definitely gave me many more reasons to become a bigger fan.
The Golf Channel’s coverage of the 2005 Solheim Cup left a lot to be desired, turning one of the most exciting sporting events of the year into one of the most boring.
The Golf Channel served as the exclusive home for the Solheim Cup this year, providing coverage from 9am until as late as 8pm on each of the three days of play. They covered the press conferences beforehand and had post- and pre-game shows nearly 100% dedicated to Solheim Cup coverage.
The 2005 matches were some of the most exciting ever witnessed. The U.S. team fell behind early 5-3, but pulled back to 6-6 and then 8-8 entering singles play. Needing 14.5 points to win the Solheim Cup back, the first five matches included blistering play by Paula Creamer and Laura Diaz en route to an eventual 15.5-12.5 American victory.
The 2005 Solheim Cup rivals or surpasses even the (blowout that was the) 2004 Ryder Cup in terms of excitement – despite the fact that it’s women’s golf. Yet The Golf Channel’s coverage rivaled only public access programming in its appeal. Could the coverage have been any worse? It’s tough to imagine.
I’ve already noted that big steps forward in driver design have been made difficult by the 460cc size limitation. Here’s a look at how three top equipment manufacturers have come up with new products that replace exisiting 460cc drivers.
Three highly anticipated drivers have recently been unveiled. The Ping G5 and Cleveland Launcher Ti460 drivers are already available at some retailers, and the Nike SasQuatch driver is expected in shops before Thanksgiving – and is getting a big push from Nike.
So these drivers are bigger and bolder than their predecessors, right? Oh, wait, all three models are replacing drivers that were already at the 460cc maximum imposed by the USGA and R&A. There goes a big selling point. Can drivers be better without being bigger?
Continue reading “Here Come the Second-Generation 460cc Drivers”
