Volume Three Hundred Thirty One

Fall is in the air!

Hittin' the LinksThe days are getting shorter, there is a chill in the air, and a lot of guys no one has ever heard of played in this weeks PGA Tour event…it must be Fall! Another week has gone by Sand Trappers and I have returned with one more edition of Hittin’ the Links.

In this edition of HtL we start off with a look at Ricky Fowler’s back, see what Tiger is considering, and take a peek behind the scenes at a PGA Tour event. Also on tap, Tiger discusses number one, we peruse the Money List, and check out this week’s winners. Read on!

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Thoughts on the American Collapse at the Ryder Cup

Up 10-6 it seemed inconceivable on Saturday night that the Americans could lose the Cup, but they did.

Thrash TalkAs I watched Steve Stricker’s chip shot on the 17th hole during the Ryder Cup roll past the hole about four feet, my heart sank into my stomach. I had a feeling at that moment that we had lost the Ryder Cup. Stricker would make a valiant par at the last and force Kaymer to make the putt to win, but it just seemed that after the bogey on 17 the outcome was all but certain.

The failings of the American team on that Sunday do not come down to any one player. Twelve American golfers went out to play and only three managed to win. You could argue that had Tiger cared he probably would have won as well, so call it four. I looked at the matchups on Sunday morning and I thought that we were in trouble right from the start.

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Five Observations From the 2012 Ryder Cup

Rationalizing the Miracle at Medinah.

Trap Five LogoUnless you’ve been living under a rock that doesn’t get WiFi for the last few days, you’ve likely heard the story of how the United States lost the Ryder Cup. Leading the European team 10-6 going into the Sunday singles matches, the U.S. got off to a slow start, and although they did manage to knock over a few dominoes in the middle of the day, a par putt on the 18th green gave the victory in the penultimate match to former world number one Martin Kaymer.

The normal Ryder Cup formula was reversed, in that the Euros got down in team play and made it up in the singles. The U.S. team, which looked poised to clinch the Cup well before the so-called anchors of Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods came down the stretch, was set up well, with it’s high-energy youngsters starting off play.

But in the end, the Stateside team was no match for, as I put it last week, Ian Poulter’s fist-pumps and patriotism.

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New Irons from Mizuno

With four new sets of irons, Mizuno has something for everybody.

Bag DropThis September Mizuno released four new sets of irons aimed at all levels of golfers. For the better player they have released the MP-64, a better players cavity back. For those looking for something a bit more forgiving without giving up too much of the workability, there is the new MP-H4 which targets scratch golfers to those with handicaps up to around 15. In addition to the two new MP sets, there are new JPX irons as well (which if you remember replaced the MX line last year). They are the JPX-825 and the JPX-825 Pro.

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Volume Three Hundred Thirty

Hey, that dog’s got my ball!

Hittin' the LinksWhat a couple of weeks its been since the last Hittin’ the Links! Sorry Sand Trappers but everyone needs to take a holiday now and then. On my vacation we watched Rory dominate, crowned a FedEx Cup winner, and watched as the American Ryder Cup team gagged their guts out on the final day of competition. Now that that’s all behind us we can get on with the Fall Finish and then to the real excitement, Q-School.

In this edition of HtL we begin with one adorable outside agency, check out one long putt, and find out what Davis Love III has to say about the Ryder Cup. Also, we find out what Lefty’s doing on Monday Night Football, investigate an awkward smooch, and do a wrap-up of the weeks events, read on!

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Breaking Down the 2012 Ryder Cup

The Sand Trap previews the Ryder Cup.

Trap Five LogoGoing into the 2012 Ryder Cup, there isn’t a noticeable chasm between the two teams. The Euros have the hottest player in the world over the last two months in Rory McIlroy, but the American team has Tiger Woods and 2012 FedExCup champ Brandt Snedeker. The U.S. team has one more player in the OWGR top 10, as well as the highest average ranking, but the European team has three of the top four players. The American team has slightly more overall experience, but the Euros have a better overall record. And so on it goes.

The Americans are looking to bring the Cup back Stateside, while the Europeans hope to keep it. Let’s break it down.

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TaylorMade RocketBallz Tour Driver and Tour Rescue Review

We’ve seen that the RocketBallz fairway woods are ridiculously long but how do the RocketBallz Tour Driver and Rescue compare?

TaylorMade RocketBallz Driver Tour Intro 1
When TaylorMade first announced that the name for their newest line replacing the Burner series was going to be RocketBallz, the social media universe exploded. There were snickers, jokes, humorous pictures posted, threats to TaylorMade to never buy another club again and predictions that this signaled the end of this dominant golf company that we know TaylorMade to be. All this gossiping really did was give TaylorMade a lot of free advertising and created an enormous buzz around the product. Yes the name may have sounded goofy at first but TaylorMade knows what they’re doing. TaylorMade made more money last year than every other golf equipment company in the world combined. To date, TaylorMade’s market share in metal woods is 50% and their fairway woods make up 75%. The RocketBallz fairway wood is one of the most successful launches in golf history and yes there is also a driver and hybrid that is part of the line.

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Titleist Unveils the New 913 Drivers

Titleist’s soon-to-be-released 913 drivers offers the company’s fastest face, increased forgiveness, and five different stock shafts.

Bag DropTitleist, as it has done every other year for the last few years now, is updating their driver offering with the release of the 913 series of drivers. Like the 910 series, there will be two different models – the larger, more forgiving D2 and the smaller, more workable D3. Also coming back is the SureFit system which allows the golfer alter the loft and face angle of the club. While there are a lot of similarities between the 913s and the 910s, there are a lot of new features as well.

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Should the PGA Tour Have Playoffs?

Why the 2012 PGA Tour playoff system is AWESOME!

Thrash TalkThe PGA Tour got the 2012 FedExCup Playoffs right. That statement from me is not easy to make, mostly because I have been quite critical of the playoff format. I like to see the best player win the money title, not someone who got hot at the Tour Championship as Bill Haas did last year. The best player last year was Luke Donald, and although he won the money title at the end of the Fall Series I felt if any player deserved the $10M bonus it was Luke and not Bill.

All that said, this year I see the magic that Tim Finchem was trying to create by getting the best players to play in the events at the end of the season. We have been treated to some fantastic golf, by all the big names. Consider this past weeks BMW Championship where the leaderboard displayed names like Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, and Vijay Singh. All the giants of the game, and each of them playing some of their best golf. The only word I can use to describe it is brilliant.

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