2014 United States Open Staff Preview

Is Pinehurst #2 ready to handle back to back US Opens with both the men and women? This question and more is addressed by our staff as the men lead off the extended event.

Thrash TalkThe U.S. Open is my favorite major to watch. With the exception of the disaster of a few years ago at Congressional, it is the best major to watch. I like watching every minute of the tournament. There is nothing better than the back nine on Sunday at the Masters, but the rest of the holes, while great to watch, don’t have the potential for disaster that you’ll find on every U.S. Open hole. Triple bogey lurks everywhere.

For 2014, the USGA has spiced it up by having the women play the course the week after the men play. This will be the first time in history this will occur. It is a bold move and only after both events are over will we know if it was a wise decision. Bringing the U.S. Open back to Pinehurst brings back memories of the win by Payne Stewart and the tragic events that followed. There are many headlines to watch during the event.

Until recently, 2014 has been such a strange year for winners on the PGA Tour. Golf fans have had to learn about a number of golfers who we have not heard of before, or made appearances after appearing to be lost like Martin Kaymer. The 2014 Open looks to be tons of fun, so let’s see what the staff expects from the event.

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Volume Three Hundred Ninety

It’s the U.S. in the Curtis Cup, Crane in Memphis, and Park at Waterloo.

Hittin' the LinksWe’re one week away from what should be a very interesting U.S. Open. We have a refurbished Donald Ross course that has proven up to the test of the world’s best in the past. It now will do so without the Bermuda rough that served it well in ’99 and ’05.

Rest assured, it has new defenses. Though the fairways are wide, misplayed balls will wind up in waste areas, pine needles, wire grass, and other nasty places. And then there are those wonderful greens. We can’t wait.

So in the interest of getting to next weekend quicker, let’s hit the links.

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Five Pre-U.S. Open Golf Stories

A little bit of Tiger news, an update on the LPGA Tour’s American resurgence, and a quick look back at the PGA Tour so far.

Trap Five LogoWe’re in that weird low point that happens in the middle of every golf season. Post-Masters, post-Players, pre-U.S. Open; we’ve got all the anticipation of the beginning of the season without any of the knowledge that the end of the year brings.

And because we’ve got another few weeks until what is shaping up to be a Tiger Woods-less U.S. Open, there’s no one overarching golf story on which to fall back.

Instead, we get pop-interest stories like Rory McIlroy’s breakup, a Stanford University golfer using a push cart during a tournament, and a few nuggets from Tiger, with a bit of reflection on the year as a whole for good measure.

Let’s dive in.

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Volume Three Hundred Eighty-Nine

Watson wilts wildly, Matsu manages mishaps, and the feds follow Phil. What is going on here?

Hittin' the LinksThe final round of the Memorial might have been the wildest one so far this year: Bubba hooked one into a backyard, Na hit a spectator and left a ball imprint on her knee, Matsu broke his driver, and Scott never got it going.

Also this week, on the IR, Tiger fell to #4 in the world as Bubba Watson slid by him into #3. And just what did Phil know and when did he know it (and who told him)? It was a very interesting week in golf. Let’s hit the links.

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Callaway Apex Irons Review

Callaway’s newest flagship line of irons is not quite Hogan-esque, but pretty darn close.

Callaway Apex Irons Back HeroJust a few years ago, Callaway’s lineup of irons was bloated, confusing, and redundant. They had a few uninspired options for better players, and had clearly put all of their effort into the game improvement market.

Several years later, Callaway’s lineup has been completely transformed. Along with the holdover X Forged from a year ago, they’re introduced two new lines: X2 Hot, and Apex.

Callaway didn’t approach the Apex line lightly, and it shows. The label was originally made famous as the name of a line of Hogan clubs. After Callaway bought the Hogan brand in the early 2000s, both the “Hogan” and “Apex” names were retired, a development that many better players lamented, especially as Callaway recycled the Hogan “Edge” label into a set of gaudy game-improvement irons and despite Callaway’s recent sale of Hogan to Perry Ellis.

As Callaway’s most forgiving forged set of irons, the Apex irons need to strike a balance between appealing to both high- and low-handicappers, which is not easy to do. Let’s see how they made out.

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Volume Three Hundred Eighty-Eight

Adam’s #1, Rory’s single, and Monty’s back! And Bubba is, well, Bubba.

Hittin' the LinksWe hope those of you in the U.S. enjoyed the long Memorial Day weekend and took a moment to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. And for those of you in parts of the world that don’t observe the holiday this weekend, we hope you enjoyed it and got out to play a little golf.

There was a lot of great golf on TV this weekend, too. While many of us were outside grilling or enjoying the (finally) warm weather, the tours were putting on a show. The Euro Tour’s best event featured a hard Sunday charge from an unlikely (of late) player. The Crowne Plaza Championship gave us two of the game’s top players catching the leaders from deep in the field and then dueling it out in a playoff. There was even a David Toms sighting in Dallas, as the former PGA Championship winner put up a top 5 performance.

And what can we say about the Sr. PGA Championship? Well, let’s see as we hit the links…

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Is Augusta National a Left-Hander’s Paradise?

In recent years the Masters has been won an overwhelming amount by left handed golfers, I take a look at why the lefties are dominating.

Thrash TalkIt is long rumored that Ben Hogan had a secret that made him such a great golfer. Arguments have raged on for years what it was. Most people now agree his secret was really just hard work.

I too have found a secret. My secret is how to win the Masters.

You think I am crazy right? I’m not. I have figured it out. If you want to win at Augusta you need to be a really long-hitting left-handed golfer. Sure, it is not easy to become that, but if you do your odds for winning shift overwhelmingly in your favor. Consider the last few winners at Augusta: the majority of them are lefties. Mostly Phil and Bubba, but we can throw a Mike Weir in there also.

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Volume Three Hundred Eighty-Seven

Salas and Todd are first time winners, Jimenez is the oldest winner (again), and John Daly wears Hooters shorts.

Hittin' the LinksA lot of us thought that Tiger’s back injury this year could be the one from which he doesn’t come back. Turns out, he was thinking the same thing. That’s a startling admission from Woods who has long kept injuries hidden from the competition and the media. Time will tell if he will indeed be able to return to the TOUR and take up pursuit of major #15, but he is sounding optimistic about his health and his future.

More on that soon, but first let’s hit the links.

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Callaway Big Bertha 2014 Review

With the new Big Bertha, Callaway promises the most advanced driver that they’ve ever created. Read on to see if it’s as good as they’d have you believe.

Over the last few years, Callaway has come out with a number of different products with all sorts of different names. From the RAZR Fit and X Hot to Octane and Diablo, it seems that the company has rolled out model after model in search of an identity. However, if there is one product line that defines the company, it is the Big Bertha. When the original version of the Bertha came out, it was all about distance but through the years the company has strayed from the name trying to capture the next great thing. Now it seems that the next great thing is an old one after all, or at least one with an old name. The new version of the Big Berth is bigger and meaner and promises even more distance than ever before.

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