The U.S. Open Golf Championship will take place at The Country Club between the 16th and 19th of June. As one of golf’s four major championships, winning at The Country Club will be a special moment for any golfer, no matter their previous accolades.
But who is the most likely to win at this historic and exclusive golf course? It has a history of producing U.S. winners and was even a happy hunting ground for the US Ryder Cup team in 1999.
A year later than scheduled, Shane Lowry will be heading off to Sandwich, Kent, in the hope of retaining the Claret Jug he won in 2019. The 149th Open takes place from the 15th-18th July at Royal St George’s. The course last held the event in 2011 – when Darren Clarke was a surprise winner. It’s not the easiest course on The Open rotation, but it’s no Carnoustie either. It’s what players like to call a “fair” course.
As for the contenders this year, it’s, well – it looks very open. It’s always worth taking the odds with a pinch of salt when betting on golf, particularly the majors. This year, we have already seen a shock winner with Phil Mickelson taking the PGA Championship – “Lefty” was 150/1 with some sportsbooks before rolling back the years at Kiawah Island. The last two winners of The Open at Royal St George’s, Darren Clarke (2011) and Ben Curtis (2003), were also huge betting outsiders.
Continue reading “The 149th Open: Discussing the Odds of the Top Contenders”
Does BirdieWrap revolutionize taping your fingers?
BirdieWrap, at birdiewrap.com, is just what it looks like: pre-cut pieces of tape in a colorful style that make it easy to apply just the right amount of tape to your fingers, your heel, or anywhere that you may currently use athletic tape to solve hot spots, small cuts, blisters, or other ailments.
BirdieWrap asks if golfers:
Of course, if you meet any of those criteria, BirdieWap can help. Does it?
The proper angles and camera positions to film your golf swing with modern technology.
This is an updated (and slimmed down) article to the original one here.
Recording your swing from the proper angles is very important. Consistently filming your swing from the proper locations not only makes it easier for you to compare your swings against previous and future swings, but also makes it easier for others you might show your swing to (for example, to folks in the Member Swings forum or to an instructor) see what’s going on.
Two views are commonly used in looking at a golf swing. If you’ve watched golf on television, you’ll be familiar with them. They are the “Down the Line” view and the “Face-On” or “Caddie” view.
Here’s how to set up and record each. (Mentally replace the camera images with your iPhone 23 Pro if you don’t mind. 😀)
Golf has seen its fair share of oddball moments over the years. Here is our selection of six of the most memorable weird and miraculous golfing moments ever to take place on the green.
Every week the world golf rankings receive an update via a supercomputer. The results are often eagerly anticipated, especially by those who feel they will have made progress by moving up a few places. It applies to Scottish player Robert MacIntyre, a man with a big future in the sport if things continue to go to plan.
MacIntyre, 24, who hails from Oban in Scotland, picked up his maiden European Tour title a couple of months ago back in November 2020 by winning the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown. The final round saw nineteen players remain, with MacIntyre carding 64 that edged him past Masahiro Kawamura by a shot to seal the victory. Following the success, MacIntyre was sitting in fifty-sixth in the world rankings. But even though he hasn’t played since, he’s climbed five places to fifty-first. And he’s now on the verge of the top fifty and everything that brings.
Continue reading “MacIntyre Aiming for More Than a Top 50 Spot”
Let’s face it: Not everyone is a fan of Bryson DeChambeau. Or, at the very least, the 27-year old’s ‘revolutionary’ tactics and focus on his physique divide opinion. Regardless, whatever it is that DeChambea is trying to say about the game of golf is worth hearing; the results he has achieved in a short space of time make that the case. But is the big-hitting player truly changing the game? Or is he just an outlier who will continue to play his own game while the rest of golf moves at its own pace? Looking back at 2020, the year that DeChambeau broke out (at least in the eyes of the media), those questions are still not easy to answer.
The first thing that we should clearly stress is that the story of Bryson DeChambeau is a bit more complex than is sometimes portrayed in the media. Sure, the Californian did emerge in the late spring bulked up (he gained about 40lbs) and with enough power to hit the ball further than anyone has managed before. But it is not as if he came from obscurity. DeChambeau was pinpointed for stardom as a young amateur and throughout his college years. In 2015 became only the third player in history to win the NCAA Division 1 Championship and US Amateur Open in the same year. The other two men to complete that feat? Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
Continue reading “Reflecting On Bryson DeChambeau’s 2020: Has He Really Changed Golf?”
Dustin Johnson is one of those “obvious after the fact” type of players. By that, we mean the world number one is capable of breezing through a tournament with supreme confidence, never looking in any danger of losing. As you watch, it becomes so clear that he was always going to win, and you kick yourself for doubting him. Of course, Johnson is capable of losing – his Masters 2020 triumph is, after all, only his second Major. But when he is in the zone like he was at Augusta last weekend, there is no better frontrunner in golf.
Being “in the zone” is important for Johnson, perhaps more than any other player in the game, although we might make an exception for Rory McIlory. Johnson isn’t exactly a streaky player, though. In fact, he is highly consistent, as you must be if you are to have over 100 weeks ranked as the world’s best golfer. But there is something imperious about the South Carolina man when he gets locked in for a tournament, and we saw that in all its glory with his 20 under par haul at Augusta National.
Continue reading “Masters 2020: Why Dustin Won and Bryson Lost”
Are lower cost alternatives to the big-name rangefinders a worthy value, or just inexpensive gadgets?
I like nice things. I’ll admit to paying a bit more for things that are well built or feel or look better than competing products that do the same exact thing. This is particularly true in golf and tech, and when those two meet, well, let’s just say I could have afforded to play a little bit more golf if I had been more logical in some of the decisions I’ve made. <grin>
We all knew what a “good” rangefinder costs. Sure, you could go to Dick’s and get a rangefinder from a brand you’d never heard of for as little as $150. The thing might work for a few months before the display would start to fade, or it wouldn’t work with a hint of fog, or the laser would get mis-aligned after dropping it a foot into the rough a few times before playing your shot.
Get used to that shade of green – it’s Precision Pro’s shade.
We all knew what the “good” brands were, and a lot of golfers either had to shell out as much as a brand-new big-name driver (or more!) to get one, or try to mess around with GPS apps or devices. (I’ve always been a big proponent of laser rangefinders over GPS, for various reasons, but this isn’t the place to re-open that discussion.)
I say “knew” because Precision Pro aims to change the game with their NX9 Slope, NX9, and NX2 range finders. They claim to deliver a quality product at a fraction of the price of the other companies.
How’d they do? Let’s find out…
