Five Tour Roundup: July 2013

Recapping the first half of the season on the five major tours.

Trap Five LogoHere in the U.S., there are five golf tours aired on television: the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour, the European Tour, the Web.com Tour, and the Champions Tour. Since we’re about halfway through the season, it seems like now would be a good time to recap the action throughout the world of golf.

The PGA Tour has seen occasional dominance of four-time winner Tiger Woods, though he’s shrunken during crunch time at the majors. The opposite could be said for Inbee Park, six-time winner on the LPGA Tour this year, and current grand slam candidate with three major wins thus far. The Web.com and Champions Tours each have a single multiple-time winner, while the Euro Tour has just two.

Let’s get to it.

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BombTech Grenade Driver Review

We take a look at one of the most, well, explosive new drivers in golf.

BombTech Grenade Driver SoleWhen I heard that we had a chance to review the BombTech Golf Grenade driver, I jumped after the opportunity after a bit of research. BombTech Golf is a new company, based out of Vermont, that makes clubs by hand in the United States. Their first club, the Grenade driver, was co-engineered with the University of Vermont engineering department as a part of their senior design project.

Why did I jump at the opportunity? Because I’m an engineer myself.

The BombTech Golf website reads more technically than most. It includes SolidWorks CAD models and computational fluid dynamics simulations, as well as a drag force calculation, not exactly the types of information that companies like TaylorMade or Nike would be willing to give out.

They might not market like the big boys of the golf industry, but could their drivers perform like the OEMs’? Let’s find out.

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Callaway X-Hot Fairway Wood Review

The new Callaway X-Hot Fairway wood is a solid and long option for any golfer looking to upgrade their fairway wood.

CallawayOver 5 years ago I reviewed the original Callaway X-Hot fairway wood. I was drawn to it’s length off the tee due to an extra inch on the shaft and a larger and more forgiving face. Since that time I’ve tried at least one fairway wood a year to see if I could replace it. Each time I felt like I was giving something up.

When the new Callaway X-Hot clubs were announced I jumped at the opportunity to take a few swings with the new version. While the shaft is a half-inch shorter, I felt like technology would make up the difference and also gain a bit in accuracy.

After a few sessions on the range and a handful of rounds all I can say is that I can guarantee that there will be an X-Hot in my bag the rest of the foreseeable future. Which one? Read on to find out.

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Volume Three Hundred Fifty Four

Phil Mickelson – 2013 Champion Golfer.

Hittin' the LinksHello golf fans and welcome to another Hittin’ the Links. I don’t know if I have ever enjoyed watching a golf tournament more than Sunday’s final round at The Open Championship. Lead changes galore, and nobody really looked like they really wanted to win until Phil decided to kick it into gear and run away with it. Congratulations, goes out to Lefty for getting the third part of his career grand slam. We will have to wait until next year to see if he can get his hands on that elusive U.S. Open Trophy.

In this newest HtL we begin with a look at this week’s celebrity event, then check out the car Lexi got with her hole in one, and find out what was going on with Rory McIlroy. Also, we find out who got a slow play penalty this time, investigate a senior citizen golf fight, and do a wrap-up of the week’s events. Read on!

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2013 British Open at Muirfield Final Round Live Chat

Join us when coverage starts on Sunday morning for our customary final round live chat!

2013 British Open Staff Picks

The 2013 Open Championship is being played at Muirfield and should be a great event, lets see what the staff expects for the event.

Thrash TalkThe 2013 edition of the British Open moves to Muirfield Golf Club. The story lines for this year’s event look great. Phil Mickelson is peaking with a win last week at the Scottish Open, Graeme McDowell is also riding high with a win at the French Open and of course there is always Tiger. There are certainly some questions around if Tiger is going to be his best this week after sustaining the injury at the U.S. Open. Let’s see what the staff expects for this year’s event.

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Why Hank Shouldn’t Talk About Tiger

Recently Hank Haney tweeted his opinion on why Tiger struggled at the U.S. Open, I give my opinion on why he should keep his trap shut.

Thrash TalkHank Haney should really learn to keep his mouth shut. In a recent tweet, Hank Haney shared the idea that Tiger’s reason for struggling at the 2013 United States Open at Merion Golf Club was because Tiger did not prepare well enough before the tournament. Hank went on to say that he has seen Tiger prepare in the past when he was Tiger’s coach and in his opinion it was not enough preparation for Tiger to win the event.

Beyond the fact that Hank really has no direct knowledge of what it takes to win a major tournament, Hank should have refrained from making any comments about his former pupil. For starters, he has no first-hand knowledge of what Tiger did to prepare for Merion. Yes, he’s watched Tiger prepare for majors in the past, but he has no idea what Tiger did at Merion. None.

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Callaway Debuts New Woods and Wedges

Callaway adds to their line of drivers and woods with the addition of the FT Optiforce while also introducing new wedges with new (and conforming) Mack Daddy Grooves.

Bag DropThere are a couple of things that nearly every golfer, regardless of their ability, would take to add to their golf game; more distance (especially off the tee) and more control around the greens. With the release of two new product lines, Callaway golf is looking to help golfers in both of these areas. Later this month, the company will be releasing a new family of woods, the FT Optiforce, which includes two different drivers as well as fairway woods. In addition to that, they are releasing the Mack Daddy 2 wedges, which they claim have grooves that are even better than the original.

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TaylorMade RocketBladez Tour Irons Review

Do TaylorMade’s newest flagship irons live up to their inflated marketing? Hint: you bet they do.

TaylorMade RocketBladez Tour
Last year, with the release of the RocketBallz line of woods, TaylorMade unleashed a massive marketing blitz unusual for the golf market. While their irons have long been solid, TaylorMade still hasn’t cemented themselves as the same dominating force from the short grass as they are off the tee.

Enter RocketBladez. TM’s newest line of irons were leaked back in October, and they claim to have brought the same (or similar) Speed Pocket technology from the woods. The Tour model that I have been testing is, of course, aimed at the better players, with thinner soles and toplines, minimal offset, and a straighter leading edge.

Ever since I played my first set of wide-soled super-game-improvement irons, I’ve been of the opinion that most people can get away with (or even benefit from) playing irons slightly better than their skill level. That was the main take-away when I reviewed the Adams CB3 Black irons last year, and that’s what I’ve come to believe here again. Read on to find out why.

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