If there is one thing you can say about the golf equipment industry, it is that it is one of trends. Over the last handful of years we have seen larger club heads, better balls, adjustable clubs, etc. One of the biggest equipment advances over recent years was the hybrid iron. Originally designed with the weekend golfer in mind, the hybrid was designed to replace the long irons but play more like a fairway wood. They helped players launch the ball higher and further than they ever could with their long irons.
However, even though the demand for hybrids are high and they have a place in many bags, some still don’t like them. For players in this category there have been a few options. For years now, Mizuno has offered the Fli-Hi irons which have become very popular, and last year we saw Callaway jump in the mix with the X Utility iron which was in Ernie Els’ bag when he won the British Open Championship. Starting in mid-May, golfers will be able finally be able to get their hands on Titleist’s offering in this category, the 712U, which was introduced on the Tour late last year.
Continue reading “Titleist Introduces the New 712U Forged Utility Iron”
The Azaleas are blooming, the pimento sandwiches are made, and the green jackets are pressed…it must be Masters time. Hello, golf fans and welcome to the Master’s edition of HtL. Its my favorite time of the year when everyone turns their attention to the city of Augusta, Georgia and the Masters. It was only two years ago when I myself finally had the chance to walk those hollowed fairways and see what all the fuss was about. Augusta National is beautiful on television, but one cannot completely understand its grandeur without seeing it firsthand. Its like no other place on earth.
For Michelle Wie, the title of this Thrash Talk does not perfectly apply. She went to Stanford, which is in Palo Alto, but it is in the Bay Area, so close enough. Sadly, Wie is likely to go down as one of the biggest busts in women’s golf. Her parents have gotten and deserved most of the blame for the tragedy that has been her career, but at some point Michelle has to take some responsibility.
Since the infamous Thanksgiving Night 2009 car crash, Tiger Woods, once a sure thing to pass Jack’s record of 19 major championships, has won just five times on the PGA Tour. All of those wins have come in a 13-month stretch, starting with the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational, and culminating in his won at Doral just recently. (And I’m not counting the Chevron because, c’mon, only host Tiger himself thinks that’s a real tournament.)
After about three years on the Nationwide Tour and six more of middling PGA Tour play, Brandt Snedeker broke through during last year’s FedExCup Playoffs, and won the $10 million top prize. Snedeker, who won earlier in the year at Torrey Pines, beat Justin Rose by three strokes down the stretch at the Tour Championships, vaulting him ahead of Jason Dufner, Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy to win the Cup.