The Trouble with Dustin Johnson

Dustin is getting prepared to make a return to the PGA Tour after a self imposed six month break from the game. There were many rumors about why he took this break I give my take on his story.

Thrash TalkI probably shouldn’t care about Dustin Johnson’s issues, but I do. When you watch a guy at the top of his game “take six months off,” it immediately makes you wonder what happened to him. How can you not?

In a very short time after Johnson made his announcement, golf.com put out a very juicy story that Johnson had failed a drug test, testing positive for cocaine. Wow. This story satisfied our need for an explanation of why such a talented golfer would take a break seemingly in the middle of the peak of his career. There was little corroborating evidence to provide support to this story, but because it satisfied a check box for most of us it seemed plausible.

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Callaway Announces XR Product Line

In February, Callaway will release their new XR Product Family; a line that they say is built for speed.

Bag DropWhile the Big Bertha line is undoubtedly the most popular line of clubs that Callaway Golf has ever created, the X Hot line, which first came out in 2013, has seen it’s fair share of love from golf fans. If you remember, it was that line that promised to add a whopping 17 yards of distance to your fairway woods, and for a lot of people, that’s exactly what they got. While the awkwardly named sequel to the X Hot Line, the X2 Hot didn’t seem to take off quite as well, those were still solid clubs that took a step forward from the original. Soon to be released now from the company is the successor to the X2 Hot, the XR. Like the line it is succeeding, the XR is a complete product line featuring multiple drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and a couple sets of irons. Read on to get all the details.

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Volume Four Hundred Seventeen

Toothgate, Westwood makes a save, and what happened to Allenby?

Hittin' the LinksLast week was golf’s annual droolfest, the PGA Merchandise Show, where the big brand names and the not-so-big roll out all of their new gizmos and doodads in hopes of getting shelf space in pro shops of North America. Twitter was buzzing with news from the event. That and the tours provided the normal expected news of the week, but the recent spate of weird news also continued. So we got that going for us.

Let’s hit the links.

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Volume Four Hundred Sixteen

A collapse, a kidnapping, and a congressman threatened.

Hittin' the LinksThis has been one strange week in golf.

Next week promises the PGA Merchandise Show, the annual drool fest for golf gear heads everywhere and a working week for those looking to stock the shelves of the pro shop for another year. The PGA TOUR returns to the mainland for the Humana Challenge at PGA West, while the European Tour continues it’s run in the deserts of the Middle East (Qatar this time). But back to this past week…

Just two weeks into the 2015 golf year and we have probably already witnessed the collapse of the year. A PGA TOUR pro was kidnapped, robbed, and beaten over the weekend. A golf course employee has been arrested for threatening to kill a congressman. And disturbingly, bodies seem to be turning up on courses with some regularity this year. Is this golf or NCIS?

Let’s hit the links.

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Titleist 915H Review

Titleist’s 915H packs technology and performance in a classic looking package.

Titleist 915H 915HdIt seems like the trend nowadays for equipment manufacturers to find the latest technological innovation and rush production on a line of clubs. This often results in multiple lines released in the same calendar year, all touting to be the longest and most accurate club in the market. It can be hard for the consumer to keep up with all of these product lines and determine which one is aimed towards their skill group. In the end, many golfers simply dismiss the manufacturers’ claims as marketing fluff.

Titleist is not one of those companies. They have a modest equipment lineup compared to other manufacturers, and typically release product lines about every two years. This gives them time to really develop their clubs and the technology that goes into them. The result is usually a club that is more refined, but also one that consumers can buy with confidence, knowing that it won’t be replaced by the next big thing several months down the road.

The latest hybrid release for Titleist is the 915H and 915Hd. The company claims that they are the longer and more forgiving than any of its predecessors. Titleist’s slogan for their 915 line of clubs is “Distance without compromise.” Is it just marketing jargon, or do they deliver? Read on, to find out.

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New Irons from Bridgestone

Bridgestone’s newest lineup of irons, the J15, features four models. Whether you’re one of the game’s best or struggle to hit the center of the face, the company says that it has something that fits your game.

Bag DropBridgestone Golf, which has made a name for itself as of late for their B330 and e-Series balls, is set to unveil their newest set of irons at the upcoming PGA Merchandise show. While producing irons (and clubs in general for that matter) is nothing new for Bridgestone, the company is not as well known for it, at least not here in the states. They aren’t the kind of company that rolls out a new set of irons every six months, and in fact, it was nearly a decade ago that their J33 came out. In Orlando, the company will show off its new J15 family of forged irons which contain four different options, each aimed a different type of player.

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Volume Four Hundred Fifteen

And we’re off in 2015… but you are unlikely to ever catch Gus.

Hittin' the LinksThe 2014-15 PGA TOUR season has rejoined battle for the 2015 portion of the campaign. As usual, the first January stop is Hawaii. Good choice.

Ah, Kapalua. There are few courses in the world that can rival the views at Kapalua. They could probably televise amateurs playing the course, and I’d watch at least a few holes of the coverage just for the scenery. While many of us are locked in winter’s embrace, at Kapalua it’s endless summer. There are surfers, paddleboarders, sailboats, and whales a-plenty to help us forget about the snow and ice outside at least for a little while.

While Kapalua signals the return of the PGA TOUR to the airwaves, the important tournaments are still weeks away. But isn’t it good to have some great golf to watch again? And if the competition wanes, there are always the whales. It’s a Monday finale, but Jimmy Walker and Hideki Matsuyama are tied for the lead after 54 holes.

Here is some of what you may have missed over the last several weeks. Let’s hit the links.

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Titleist 915 D2 and D3 Driver Review

Titleist updates their 913 drivers with higher launch and lower spin 915 Series. Do these drivers meet this claim?

Titleist_915D2_DriverTitleist has unveiled their new series of drivers and woods with the 915 featuring a new technology for Titleist, the Active Recoil Channel™ and the Radial Speed Face, a refinement on the face to improve distance on off center hits. The face changes also allow more weight to be shifted back on the head improving the head’s MOI with a lower and deeper center of gravity (CG). This driver has already seen success on tour with Jordan Spieth (915D2) winning the recent Australian Open and Hero World Challenge and their other top players having the D2 (Jimmy Walker, Bill Haas) or D3 (Adam Scott) in the bag.

This review will take a closer look at the “higher launch, lower spin” claims of the 915 versus the previous models, 913 and 910.

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Grading Tiger’s Return

Tiger made his triumphant return to competitive golf, I give my thoughts on his performance.

Thrash TalkThere is good news, and bad news.

The good news is there are a number of positives to take away from Tiger’s recent return at his Hero World Challenge. The bad news was his score. Our, or at least my, expectations for Tiger are very high. When he comes back from injury I expect low scores and a return to dominance. The only thing he dominated in this return was the bottom of the leaderboard.

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