Volume Four Hundred Four

The Web [dot] com Tour awarded another 25 PGA Tour cards, the Horschels’ daughter arrived, and… oh yeah, it’s Ryder Cup Week.

Hittin' the LinksWhat a week Billy Horschel had! Just days after winning the TOUR Championship and FedExCup, he sent this tweet:

I’m thinking not very many people have ever had a better week.

The PGA Tour had the weekend off, but there was still plenty of golf news. Not to mention, it’s Ryder Cup Week! The U.S.A. and Euro teams don’t tee off until Friday, but until then, let’s hit the links.

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Talking to Neil Sagebiel, Author of “Draw in the Dunes”

We chat with Neil Sabebiel, blogger at Armchair Golf Blog, and author of The Longest Shot and Draw in the Dunes.

Throwing DartsNeil Sagebiel is a golf blogger at Armchair Golf Blog and author whose first book The Longest Shot detailed Jack Fleck’s stunning comeback and subsequent 18-hole playoff with Ben Hogan at the 1955 U.S. Open, and whose new book, Draw in the Dunes, chronicles the 1969 Ryder Cup.

The ’69 Cup featured two highly combative sides. 17 of the 32 matches were decided on the 18th hole, and the last match of the day, which featured Tony Jacklin and Jack Nicklaus, proved to be the decider. Nicklaus, playing in his first Ryder Cup despite having already won seven major championships, conceded a missable putt to Jacklin on the final hole, an unexpected turn of sportsmanship that became known simply as “The Concession.” Jacklin tied the match, and the United Kingdom drew even with the States, though the defending champion Americans retained the Cup.

I sat down with Sagebiel over email to discuss golf history, a few the sport’s current events, and his own game.

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Volume Four Hundred Three

The PGA TOUR wraps up, and we celebrate with twice the usual links. But don’t worry, the first round of ’14-15 TOUR is Oct. 9th.

Hittin' the LinksThe 2013-14 PGA Tour season gave us Tiger Woods getting injured, having surgery, and getting injured again. Phil Mickelson failed to win for the first time since 2003. It saw the return of Martin Kaymer and Henrik Stenson to prominence. Rory McIlroy (re)claimed the number one ranking in the world, both literally in terms of the OWGR and in the minds of fans everywhere. After the PGA Championship, there is little doubt that he is the best golfer on the planet. Then again, after the past few weeks, maybe we were asking the wrong question. Instead of wondering who will be next to rival Tiger Woods, maybe we should be wondering how good a McIlroy-Horschel rivalry can be.

In addition to the wrap up of the PGA Tour, this week also the official end of major season, as the LPGA’s Evian Championship concluded in France. The week after next, the U.S. and European squads will go head to head at Gleneagles for the 2014 Ryder Cup. Until then, let’s hit the links.

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Nine Holes With Patrick Reed

Top five or not, Patrick Reed is on fire.

ProfilesOver the past year, few golfers have played as well as Patrick Reed. The cocky Texan won for the first time last August, and simply hasn’t stopped.

He’s currently on the bubble for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but his competitiveness makes him tough to leave off. Likewise, his cockiness makes him polarizing.

Let’s take a look at on of the Tour’s best golfers.

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Volume Four Hundred Two

Beam me up, Scotty. Who’s this latest two-time PGA TOUR winner? And the Ryder Cup picks are in and the winners are…

Hittin' the LinksLabor Day has come and gone. There are just a few more weeks of summer according to the calendar, but there are still big events in golf to be played.

We’re at the midway point of the FedExCup playoffs and your new points leader is… Chris Kirk. It’s still anyone’s race, of course. At least anyone who is still playing. The field will narrow again this week, from 70 at the BMW Championship to just 30 who will make the trip to Atlanta for the TOUR Championship.

And the teams are now set for golf’s other big event of fall, the Ryder Cup. Which team looks better going in? We’ll be debating that for the next three weeks, but it’s almost certainly the Euros on paper (not that the U.S. made much advantage of that in the past). For now, let’s hit the links.

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Talking to Andrew Fischer, Bubba Watson’s Former Fitness Coach and Founder of FishFit

Chatting with the man behind FishFit, a comprehensive golf fitness app from Bubba Watson’s former conditioning coach.

Throwing DartsFirst, thanks to all the TST readers and forum members who submitted questions over on the forum. Also, a big thanks to Andrew Fischer for the answers.

Fischer was Bubba Watson’s conditioning coach, and has a new smartphone app out called “FishFit,” which is available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

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Dear Sean, I Think it is Time We See Other People

Recently Tiger Woods has fired his coach Sean Foley. I take a look at where both of them go from here.

Thrash TalkI can remember when I first learned that Tiger and Sean Foley were going to work together I was expecting Tiger to dominate again, and quickly. Sean was a rising star, with a stable of players such as Sean O’Hair who at the time was playing great, Hunter Mahan, Justin Rose, lots of guys who were and still are rising stars. Tiger was returning from scandal and a very broken relationship with Hank Haney, but was and still is the best player to ever play the game. The match looked very good.

Sadly it was a completely majorless relationship. The question of whether Tiger got better is near impossible to answer because he was so often injured that only in 2013 could we do any type of analysis of his performance. 2013 was a great year, with five wins (in big events, including The Players, which he’s struggled to win in the past) and Player of the Year honors, but he didn’t win a major. I for one thought it was only a matter of time until he got number fifteen in the trophy case.

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Ping G30 Irons Review

PING’s latest offering in the game improvement irons category is all about distance and forgiveness.

PING G30 Irons SetI’m not a PING guy. It’s not that I have anything against the company, but there are so many choices out in the market that I’ve just never really given them proper consideration. It may be because some other companies shove their marketing in your face all the time, or PING’s pros don’t have the star power (Bubba excluded) of some of its competitors. Either way, I have never given them a fair shake, so when the opportunity arrived for me to review a set of PING G30 irons, I jumped at it.

As a high handicap player, I made a switch to a set of game improvement clubs last year and I haven’t looked back since. I like to hit high iron shots that land softly on the greens. I also like to know that when I miss the center of the clubface, I’ll still be able to get the ball somewhere near the vicinity of my target. I don’t get to spend as much time on the golf course as I’d like, so it’s nice to know that my inconsistent contact won’t hurt my score too much.

Cue the G30 irons. They are the latest offering in the G line of clubs. Like its predecessors, the G30 irons are game improvement clubs. This means they are designed to promote a higher launch angle, increase distance, and maximize forgiveness; everything I’m looking for in an iron. How do they perform in my hands? Read on, to find out.

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Callaway Expands Apex Line with Musclebacks and Utility Irons

Crafted with the tour in mind, the new Apex Muscle back irons feature a classic design with some added playability.

Bag DropThis past year, the golf world saw Callaway revive a couple of old favorites with the reintroduction of the Big Bertha woods and Apex irons, the latter of course being made famous under the Ben Hogan name. Earlier in the month the Big Bertha’s received their first update with the V series and now it’s time for a new set of Apex irons. It should be no surprise that Callaway takes feedback and suggestions from its tour players seriously, so when they asked for a new blade, the company got to work; the result is the new Apex Muscleback irons. In addition to the new blades, the company has new matching utility irons to go along with them.

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