2010 Masters Final Round Live Chat

Join us at 2pm eastern time when CBS coverage starts for a live blog.

We’re going to try a live “chat” this time around rather than a live blog as we’ve done in the past. We’ll have a few invited guests (primarily from the forum) who will join us, and you can pop in from time to time to add your commentary to the live feed.

The event kicks off with coverage at 2pm eastern time, so check back a bit before then.

Also, anyone who (in their first comment, prior to 2pm eastern time) predicts the winner and the final score will win a free license to Scorecard, an awesome statistics app that helps you analyze and improve your golf game. Post the final score (relative to par) and the winner’s name. Your first entry’s all that counts, and if you post multiple times, you’re DQed.

2010 Masters Staff Predictions

Will Tiger win? Will he regret his decision to return this week? Will the “patrons” heckle him? Our writers weigh in.

Thrash TalkOn a typical year, golf fans start counting down to the Masters months in advance. This year, the addition of Tiger Woods’ return turns it into one of the most anticipated golf tournaments in the sport’s history.

We’ve polled The Sand Trap staff to offer you their insights into all things Tiger, Augusta and ask who will be wearing the green jacket Sunday afternoon.

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My Very Own Augusta

Sure, it’s not the site of the Masters, but there’s one course that’s magical, mystical, and helped hook me on the game of golf. Everyone’s got one. Tomorrow I play mine. Today I’m tingling.

Thrash TalkThere are few places that get the blood flowing the way Augusta National can. The lush green landscape signals the long gray winter has given way to another golf season. Offering us a glimpse of the grounds that are so hard to reach in person should have been the sole reason someone decided we needed HDTV.

Augusta National is special for so many reasons, including the exclusiveness of the club. It will always be at an arm’s length from the public, dangling just enough out there for us to always want so much more. It’s a formula that extends well beyond Magnolia Lane. We’ve all got our own personal Augusta National, and so few of them are in Georgia.

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Cobra Introduces New S2 Max Iron and Iron Hybrid Set

Cobra extends the S2 lineup with new S2 Max Iron-Hybrid and Iron sets, which borrow a good deal of key design features from the drivers and fairway woods released earlier this year. Why let a little thing like Puma’s acquisition of Cobra stop them from giving you an extra bit of game improvement?

Bag DropRecently, we covered Cobra’s new S2 drivers and fairway woods, which were said to offer numerous improvements for this year in terms of forgiveness and distance. With that in mind, it would be safe to say the the newest game improvement irons and hybrids from Cobra have the same exact intention – to help improve your game as much as possible.

At the time of that release, we had no idea that there were some shakeups right around the corner. The guys at Cobra aren’t going to let a little thing like the sale of Cobra from Acushnet to Puma stop them from rolling out some new hardware. We’ll get to the few details we know about the Puma/Cobra acquisition in a minute, but first lets check out the latest in the S2 lineup from Cobra.

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Volume Two Hundred Twenty Nine

Bay Hill needs some overtime, Finchem shows favoritism, and Couples kicks senior butt!

Hittin' the LinksHello again golf fans, and welcome to another volume of Hittin’ the Links. This volume comes before we even have a winner at soggy Bay Hill. You will just have to watch Golf Channel for those results.

In this edition of HTL we begin with a little verbal nothingness from everyone’s favorite crackpot Martha Burk, then take a look at Michelle Wie’s latest rules gaffe, and investigate some PGA Tour favoritism. Also on tap, we find out at least one person who is happy about Tiger’s return, check out the testing department at the USGA, and do a wrap-up of some of the week’s events. Read on!

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Five Golf Secrets for Beginners

As soon as you declare you are taking up golf, you get hit with dozens of pieces of conflicting advice on how to start. To prevent backspin overload, here are five secrets to help you launch your golfing experience.

Trap Five LogoPeople remember when they had that first “I gotta do golf!” moment. Maybe you were watching golf on TV a couple of weeks ago, and saw the crowd go wild when Ernie Els birdied the 17th at Doral to clinch the CA Championship. Maybe your in-laws gave you a set of irons for your first wedding anniversary.

Once you say yes, the next few weeks can be mind-boggling. People are talking about fairway metals, short irons, up and down, wedge bounce, and other weird things. And, beginners quickly realize how ominous the first tee can be: You have to hit a pesky little white ball while dozens of people watch. How does Ernie do it?

Fear not, golf is quite do-able and fun if you just know the secrets for getting started. Here are five basics I wish people had shared with me when I was a beginner.

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When It’s Time For a Golf Trip, I’m Flying Solo

Give me peace, quiet, and meeting new people over reminding my buddies each night that our 8 a.m. tee time will make staying until last call all the more painful.

Thrash TalkI made my long awaited (in my mind) return to the golf course last week. No press conferences. No media stakeouts. Just me, my clubs, and a balky putter. At some point there will be apologies to my wife and family since the next eight months I’ll be sneaking off with my other loves (all 14 of them, with a few substitutes depending on my mood). I’d like to blame the layoff for by abysmal start to the year, not the distractions caused by my infidelity this winter (demoing irons and drivers for hours on end, leaving my current player-club relationships in serious jeopardy).

Unlike a certain big name golfer, I couldn’t possibly wait for the Masters. But I did choose a controlled environment to kick off my season, and got away from my familiar surroundings, heading across the country for a solo golf trip in Nevada that reintroduced me to the joys of traveling and playing alone, with strangers, and (unfortunately) the rigors of being joined by my buddies after three days by myself.

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Leupold Releases New GX-3 and GX-4 and Updates GX-1, GX-2

How do you make a great accessory even better? Shrink it, add more features, and make it even more accurate and durable – which is exactly what Leupold has done with their new GX-3 and GX-4 laser rangefinders.

Bag DropMaybe you’re not a GPS guy. Some of you prefer obtaining your distances from laser rangefinders instead of their GPS-based counterparts. GPS units in the past have had issues with satellite acquisition times, which can lead to frustration for you, the group you’re playing with, and potentially groups behind you, whereas the laser rangefinder is point, shoot, and done!

If the laser rangefinders are more to your liking, then hopefully you’ve considered Leupold’s offerings. If you haven’t, maybe you should check them out. For starters, we’ve reviewed previous models from Leupold, and even given a few rangefinders away! Leupold’s optical systems can be found in a number of applications, some that require even more pinpoint accuracy than our precious knowledge of distance to the pin. Wouldn’t you trust the makers of the same optical systems used by expert marksmen world wide? I know I would.

Read on to find out more about how Leupold’s latest rangefinders might just be able to help take a few strokes off of your scorecard.

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Volume Two Hundred Twenty Eight

Ogilvy does some unexpected traveling, John and Tony hang out, and Tiger talks again

Hittin' the LinksHello golf fans and welcome again to Hittin’ the Links. Lots of Tiger stories again this week as his return grows closer. Everyone wants to talk to Tiger. Everyone, that is, but CBS.

In this edition of HTL we begin with a traveling story involving Geoff Ogilvy, then find out whats wrong with David Toms, and take a peek at Tiger’s interviews. Also, we see who passed on a Tiger interview, find out who is hanging out with John Daly, and do a wrap-up of some of the week’s events. Read on!

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