Bifurcation… What the Heck Does That Mean?

Should there be a separate set of rules for the pros and the rest of us?

Thrash TalkRecently there has been a ton of discussion on the USGA decision to prohibit golfers from making a putting stroke by anchoring the club or their forearm to their body. For the first time in my life I was introduced to the term bifurcation. I know that my vocabulary should be better, but I needed to look up the word in the dictionary. For those like me, it means to divide into two branches, in the case of golf, one set of rules for professionals and one set for amateurs.

In the last few years the USGA has made two major changes to the game, one changing the rules on the grooves in an attempt to force players to curb the distance gains that have been made, and the recent putting stroke change. Many believe the groove change was a colossal failure, and I agree. It has done very little to affect how players score on the PGA Tour and just forced them to get new wedges. I have used wedges with the newer grooves and for a slower swing speed players such as myself and I do get less spin. I play with many plus handicap players and I see the new rule hardly affecting them.

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Reacting to the Pro-Anchoring Crowd

Why I agree with the USGA and R&A ruling on anchoring putters.

Trap Five LogoIn 2016, anchoring putters will be outlawed, and the joint USGA/R&A ruling caused quite a stir when the proposed ban was announced. The ruling bodies contend that anchoring a golf club to the body is not a swinging motion, and thus not allowable under the Rules of Golf. Supporters of belly and long putters rely on arguments like “the game is evolving,” “long putters will grow the game,” and “they don’t provide an advantage.”

Because it’s a decision that involves $300 putters, three of the last five major winners, and putting guru Dave Pelz, it made noise in the sports world despite the basketball and football seasons being in full swing.

Reactions to the decision have been interesting, to say the least. Several forum threads (here and here) revealed that golfers were against a ban in 2007, but times have changed, and another poll has a majority of responders supporting the ban. Golf writers, on the other hand, seem staunchly against the ban, and many have been quick to criticize the ruling. Professional golfers seem similarly split, so let’s take a bit of time to respond to what people have had to say.

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Callaway Golf Introduces the New RAZR Fit Xtreme Driver

Callaway’s newest driver boasts the lowest CG of any adjustable driver along with faster ball speeds, lower spin and maximum distance.

Bag DropOn January 18, 2013, Callaway Golf will release the new RAZR Fit Xtreme driver to the public. The driver, which has already found it’s way into a few bags on the tour, has many features which makes it “very long and consistent,” acoording to Dr. Alan Hocknell the senior VP of Research and Development for Callaway.

Chief among the new features is Speed Frame Face Technology, which is really a combination of two previous technologies that have been seen in the past, VFT (variable face thickness) and Hyperbolic Face Technology. The result of this combination is a face that that has a larger and more consistent sweet spot and higher ball speeds. In addition to the faster ball speeds, the Speed Frame Face redistributes some of the material in the clubhead to lower the center of gravity and maximize the MOI, giving golfers better ball flight and forgiveness.

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Volume Three Hundred Thirty Five

It’s down to the wire in Q-School, Graeme takes Tiger’s money, and who’s the idiot calling Keegan a cheater?

Hittin' the LinksHappy December golf fans, and welcome to Hittin’ the Links. Q-School is heating up with one round to go. There are several big names fighting for their card this year including non other than Camilo Villegas. And it’s not looking so great for Camilo right now, we might have to watch Spiderman on the Web.com Tour in 2013.

In this edition of HtL we begin with a look at Micheal Phelps’ aspirations, then look at the belly ban, and check out what Tiger did to keep his World Challenge afloat. Also, we investigate an idiot calling someone a cheater, look into some golf games, and do a wrap-up of the week’s events. Read on!

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Ping G20 Driver Review

The PING G20 is a driver that can help players of all levels and delivers on its promise of a high ball flight with low spin. PING has delivered one of its best drivers in a long time.

PINGAfter owning one driver for 3+ years, I have been bouncing around from driver to driver trying ones with different lofts, shafts and spin rates. I struggled for a long time to find something that fit my game just right.

One day on the range, two friends of mine had new PING G20 drivers in their bags. Being the fickle with drivers I thought it would be worth my time to give it a swing. I didn’t have high expectations because, yes, I had tried the previous PING driver with not much luck.

All I have to say is that I’m glad I did. Read on and I’ll give you the details on why the PING I20 became my new favorite club in the bag.

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High Definition Versus Live Golf

Is golf better on television or live in person? I give my thoughts on the topic.

Thrash TalkI am very blessed to be able to live in the California Bay Area which has a plethora of awesome live sporting events. We have 2 football teams, 2 baseball teams, a basketball team, a hockey team, a number of college football teams, and even a soccer team. The PGA Tour comes to our parts regularly for the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and now the Fry’s.com event. Every few years we get a US Open, at Olympic and Pebble.

This past weekend I went out to watch the Fry.com event a few miles from my house. What is nice about the Fry’s tournament versus the US Open is the total number of people who attend is far less and you can get closer to the action. Even when I spent some time following the leaders on Saturday I could easily find a good spot for viewing. While at the US Open there were so many people there that even with the players not in contention it was hard to get a view where you were not having to look over someone. Then if it were the disaster of the Tiger and Phil grouping then you had a mob on your hands.

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New Shoes From TRUE Linkswear

The TRUE sensei are the newest shoes from TRUE Linkswear, and are great for golf, running or just around town.

Bag DropBack in 2010, The Sand Trap started covering a small golf shoe company by the name of TRUE Linkswear and the release of their original shoe the TRUE tour. This shoe was unique in the sense that it was spikeless (there were very few at the time), and even more so because it promoted the foot to work naturally. The shoe was also lighter than pretty much anything else available. Since that time, a few things have happened; TRUE has grown and has released a few more models including the TRUE stealth (and then updates to the tour and stealth) and the TRUE phx as well as a women’s shoe, the TRUE isis.  In addition to that, the market for lightweight, natural motion golf shoes has boomed with nearly every major manufacturer having a shoe in this catagory. At the beginning of the month, TRUE released the next shoe in their lineup, the TRUE sensei, which in addition to being a great golf shoe also doubles as a running shoe. In fact, Ryan Moore won last month in Las Vegas wearing these on the same day that the TRUE Linkswear president, Robert Rigg, ran the Portland Marathon in them.

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Volume Three Hundred Thirty Four

One more season in the books.

Hittin' the LinksBizarre as it was to watch on Friday, I have to give props to Charlie Beljan for getting it together over the weekend and winning at Disney. I saw him play a couple times in college as he and I both attended the same University. Good for him, from second stage of Q-School to two-year exemption in two tournaments.

In this edition of HtL we begin with a look at another golfer making a painful but correct decision, check out one great season for Rory McIlroy, and take a peek at the final PGA Tour Money List. Also we say goodbye to Jim Flick, investigate a golf tax, and do a wrap-up of the week’s events. Read on!

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Nine Holes with the Golfing Presidents

We take a look at the most famous presidential golfers.

ProfilesIt’s political season, and if you thought you could get away from it even in the golf world, think again. There’s a long history, stemming back to the early days of golf in this country, of U.S. Presidents spending their down time on the links.

As the business community has shown us, the golf course is a great way to schmooze clients and get business done on the go, and at the very worst it’s five hours of walking and staring at your phone.

From President Clinton’s “footwedge” to the Eisenhower Tree, let’s take a look at the most notable White House golfers.

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