Stories From Atlanta

Top five stories from Atlanta Athletic Club and the 93rd PGA Championship.

Trap Five LogoThe 93rd PGA Championship concluded nearly one week ago, and Tour-rookie Keegan Bradley walked away the victor. Bradley is the first player since Ben Curtis in 2003 to win a major in his first appearance, and only the second in over 90 years. Bradley is also the first player ever to win a major with a belly putter, and his late-round five-stroke comeback was one of the best finishes of the year. In fact, despite declining ratings mainly due to the demise of Tiger Woods, this year’s PGA has continued a streak of exciting PGA finishes, and it’s refuting the assertion of the PGA being the least of the four majors.

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TaylorMade Announces New R11 Irons

TaylorMade’s R11 lineup has been extended to include a new set of irons.

Bag DropYou’d have to be pretty blind if you didn’t see this one coming. Following on the footsteps of the hugely successful R11 drivers and fairways comes the newest member of that family – the TaylorMade R11 irons.

I’ll have to be totally honest, I fully expected to see a R11 SuperDeep or R11 CGB Max or some other variant in the driver/fairway category first, but instead TaylorMade has rolled out an iron that looks to be playable by a wide variety of skill sets. Hopefully the staffers will keep the all white outfits in the closet for this release :-P.Let’s dig a little deeper and see how they did it.

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Volume Two Hundred Ninety

Keegan Bradley wins the PGA Championship

Hittin' the LinksWelcome golf nuts to another edition of Hittin’ the Links. I certainly hope everyone out there caught the end of the PGA championship. What a finish, I have to give big kudos to Keegan Bradley. After he chipped into the water on 15 he could have easily just packed it in. Instead he decides to go birdie crazy amid the hardest stretch of holes on the golf course. And all of this in his very first major championship appearance!

In this edition of HtL we begin with a look at the long putter, then check into Tiger’s upcoming schedule (or lack thereof), and investigate the Phil fiasco. Also on tap, we find out where Rory was heading Sunday night, peruse the final weeks until the FedExCup Playoffs, and do a wrap-up of the week’s events. Read on!

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2011 PGA Championship Final Round Chat

Join us for a final-round chat during the 2011 PGA Championship from Atlanta Athletic Club in John’s Creek, Georgia.

Staff Predictions: PGA Championship 2011

Will one of the up-and-comers such as Westwood, Johnson, Fowler crack the major championship riddle? Will Tiger or Mickelson return to form? Or might another Rich Beem rise at Atlanta Athletic Club?

Thrash TalkOften derided as the fourth major, trailed way, way behind the other three, the PGA Championship has actually staged some of the best finishes in recent history.

The 2011 edition sets up for drama, with the Steve Williams soap opera filling up space and reminding us that anything Tiger Woods-related remains the hottest of hot stories. Add the fact that Woods is back playing in a major since the Masters, a bucket-load of non-major winners are closing in on hoisting one of the four big trophies, and Atlanta Athletic Club could be the scene of one exciting golf tournament.

Will an established star such as Woods, McIlroy or Mickelson rise? Is this the week Lee Westwood or Steve Stricker breaks through? Maybe the newest Y.E. Yang. Read on to see what The Sand Trap staff has to say about it all.

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PING Scottsdale, Sydney, and Anser Milled Putters

PING’s released a lot of putters – and we have lots of pictures of them.

Bag DropFrom the company that defined an entire style of putter comes the latest in that style’s namesake – the PING Anser Milled Series putters. As if that wasn’t enough, PING has also announced additional putters, the first being new additions to the Scottsdale family, and the second, the new high-MOI, wide body Sydney putter.

This week, we’re pretty short on words and instead decided to let the images speak for themselves, so let’s dig into these new putters from PING.

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Volume Two Hundred Eighty Nine

Adam Scott wins, Shakira has some golf skills, and Rory McIlroy likes golf better when the sun is shining.

Hittin' the LinksBuenos días golf fans and welcome to another edition of Hittin’ the Links. How sweet it must be for Steve Williams to watch his new boss win his first World Golf Championship. That being said this whole break-up thing is getting a tad ridiculous. The bickering back and forth about how it went down sounds like it should be coming from a junior high girls’ bathroom. Grow up a bit Stevie, cash the big check your boss just gave you, and move on with your life.

In this edition of HtL we begin with the cutest golf swing of all time, then investigate who left Tiger this time, and find out why Rory is leaning towards the PGA Tour next year. Also on tap, we take a peek at the official site of the 93rd PGA Championship, check out the soap opera that is the separation of Stevie and Tiger, and do a wrap-up of the week’s events. Read on!

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PING Unveils New G20 Series and Anser Forged Wedges

PING new lineup includes a little bit for everyone, regardless of skill level. Whether it’s a new, more forgiving driver you’re looking for, or a shiny new forged wedge, they’ve got you covered.

Bag DropPING has had quite a bit of success in past years with their G-series of game improvement clubs as well as the Anser irons, which was their first forged iron in quite a long time.

This year, both lines are extended – the G-series now contains the G20 drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, and irons, while the Anser family welcomes new wedges to the fold. We’ve obviously got a lot to get to this week, so lets check them all out!

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Tigers’ Quest, Legacy Will Soon Shift to Burden, Curse

As the clock ticks, and he limps back into competition, the pressure to pass Nicklaus’s majors mark builds.

Thrash TalkFor the first three decades of his life, Tiger Woods had a mission, a quest, a number by which golf immortality has always been measured.

Jack Nicklaus’s 18 major championships set the bar so high, until Woods came along and declared that his singular focus in life was to reset that number to 19, if not well higher. It’s so outlandish, the thought of a young pro with as good an amateur record as golf’s seen since Bobby Jones talking about taking down Jack so early in his career, it redefines the word bravado.

But when Woods said it, when he described his bedroom shrine to the Golden Bear, when it became clear his father had trained him for this starting in a playpen, it became intriguing, and quickly it turned believable.

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