Mahbles

I love your idea, it certainly has merits. One of the reasons why SBS signed the 10 year agreement with the PGA Tour and Kapalua is because the LPGA spurned SBS for their Korean broadcast rights. In a nutshell: LPGA wanted more money for their Korean broadcast fees and asked SBS what their offer was. SBS said $3.5M/year. LPGA went to a smaller, cable channel in Korea called Joong Ang (J Golf for short) and said, will you pay $4M/year? J Golf said yes. LPGA spurned SBS by going with a smaller tier cable provide because J Golf was going to pay more money. SBS says that if the LPGA asked, they would have paid $4M/year, but felt the LPGA shafted them. To give you a sense of scale, SBS is equivalent to CBS or NBC, while J Golf is equivalent to Golf Channel. So, since SBS got the shaft, they one-upped the LPGA by signing a 10 year agreement with the PGA Tour, solidifying the season-opening event on Maui, which hopefully will keep the Sony on Oahu. Was Kapalua contractually obligated to the LPGA to host four more events? Yes. Did Kapalua reach out to LPGA for assistance? Yes. They even asked to defer 2009's event, but wanting to do 2010-2012. I think the LPGA was thinking, "if we let you skip 2009, who's to say you won't ask to skip 2010?" A valid point. I know for a fact that there are other LPGA events hurting, and without a title sponsor. the IMG owned event in China, after the Kapalua event has no title and IMG wants out as well. The LPGA was a growing product, gaining popularity with every tour stop. It's truly unfortunate that the economy happened when it did. What's one to do? Flexibility is one way, the LPGA should work with tournaments to find a viable solution, reduce fees or something! Don't deny the public an opportunity to watch these ladies play, it's a great, great event. If you live near an LPGA event, I highly recommend you attend and support the players and the event!

Organizers of the Kapalua LPGA Classic in Hawaii have pulled out of their contract to host the annual LPGA event through 2012. LPGA deputy commissioner Libba Galloway said Tuesday in a news release that the association is "extremely disappointed" with the decision not to conduct the event in October. She says the LPGA will vigorously enforce its legal rights under the contract. The LPGA says the Kapalua Land Co. is the contract holder. The company is a subsidiary of Maui Land & Pineapple Inc. It lost $70.6 million in the quarter that ended Dec. 31, compared with a $4 million loss in the prior year's same quarter. That's a bummer. Another step back for the LPGA. If they don't have money to put on the event, how can they expect them to put it on?

I keep a flask of tequila in the freezer and when I play with friends, I'll bring it along, you know, swing oil! I mostly drink water, and at the courses I play, the water jugs are abundant. I've learned that I have to drink water, otherwise the sun will just beat on me and I'll end up with a headache. I've tried stuff like Amino Vitale and but I'm not sure it works.

Yup, I've only had Nike 3W until my Titleist one, but every Nike 3W I've had, especially my favorite T60 one, had a beautiful SMACK sound off the face.

Amen to that. They are hideous. I will admit to collecting the Hula Girl head covers though. I haven't read through all the quotes yet, but my vote for a putter that's like a Scotty Cameron are the Nike Unitized putters. They're pretty close.

Aloha all, I recently got fitted for a set of Titleist irons and woods as a wedding gift from the new bride and ended up with the AP2 irons. I was originally set on the AP1 but the fitter said I was capable of using the AP2 irons. I do like the thinner top line and I got them 2 degrees upright and the stock, Project X 5.5 shaft. They are amazing. There's something to be said about being fit for clubs and those are amazing. My old set were stock Nike CCI cast irons and I loved them but these AP2's are amazing. Put it this way. with the Nike CCI irons, I can hit my 5 iron maybe 2 out of 5 times straight and onto the fairway. With the AP2, I'm 4 out of 5 on the fairway. I get better ball flight and this is all due to being fitted. I say if you can get fitted, do it, this way you can see how your launch angle and spin rate are for each iron. If your numbers are similar, then it just comes down to how well you like the club looking down at it, and cost. Good luck!

Hey Alley Cat, I only have experience with the Sumo Square 3 wood with the stock shaft and just like the Sumo Square driver, it goes straight. I think for 3 woods, the shape of the head doesn't really matter as much as the driver, only because the head of a driver is so much bigger. Nike probably came out with a square 3 w for those that thought it would compliment my square driver and sumo square hybrids, which I certainly bought into. Give it a whirl, and try it, I believe Nike makes good stuff. The only reason why my bag is all Titleist is because I got fit by one of the Titleist golf pro's where I work.

I agree, hitting shots within a radius on a green is old, and since none of them are very accurate, they all seem to spin it out of line or completely miss the green. It looks like the next episode has them breaking the panes of glass. Why can't they come up with new things to try and do? I've always been a big fan of trying to hit the ball picker at the range, why not do something like that? I now propose new Big Break ideas: Hit the ball picker on a driving range or fairway how well they fade or draw the ball, make the ball go around a tree or something Flop shots into tubs of water or food that the loser has to consume Double-Dare but make them do a golf shot stroke play golf is always fun

http://www.pgatour.com/2009/tourname...sbs/index.html Wow, what a commitment! Good news for the PGA Tour during these touch economic times.

Haha, I was waiting to see if someone was going to mention that about her. I will say that some of the girls look better with their hats on than without. You could say the same about the guys too, such as Furyk and Cink. Anyway, enough of the juvenile talk. I think Gerina is solid like Kim Welch from BB: Ka'anapali, doesn't let a whole lot rattle her.

I'll echo everyone's sentiment, Brian talks a big game, but has yet to prove it. Kim, sad to see her go, she was easy on the eyes but the nerves got to her. I think the underlying theme of Big Break is that the challenges are tougher than actual competition. I also think that setting up the shots is akin to waiting on the tee box for the fairway to clear or the group in front to get off the greens, there's just too much dead time while the crew gets everything into position. I'm sure you guys caught this, but whenever they do guy vs girl, the girls obviously hits from a forward tee. This requires the entire group to move from the back tee to the front tee and reposition cameras, etc. They must have the guys tee off first and then show the women teeing off. The rest is editing. I remember the first episode when it showed that Brian and Derek were accomplished players, I was hoping for one of them to dominate the show but it was all talk and all hype. I think the Golf Channel makes them say things that only they think in their heads. I hate it when they say snippets of how good they are, how much they practice and then when you see them step up to the shot only to push the driver into the trees. That's all Golf Channel. It might make for good TV, but it sure doesn't make them look humble. I know some people here like Gerina, and I like her too, but whenever she's in the "confession" room, it looks like one eye is crossed, but that's just me. Either way, she pounds the driver! Now that Kim is out, I'll have to root for Caroline.

I have to agree with JGulk on this one. I love the way Winn grips feel but they get trashed on irons and even on my putters they get pretty beat up. You might say they get abused in my golf bag but I have full length dividers on my Nike Sasquatch Tour bag. I put Iomic grips on everything and haven't been dissapointed since!

I think that was Nicole that couldn't bomb it very long. I'm quite fond of Kim too, but she's barely hanging on by a thread, and I mean barely.

Greetings all, I hope I can come here every week to rant and rave about the most recent episode. I'm trying to get my wife to watch the show as well, but since she doesn't play much, all she can do is comment on the girls, which is fine by me. I think the Big Break does what it does best which is putting the contestants in difficult golf-related challenges. If you'll recall when they did the Big Break: Ka'anapali, they started out with an "Amazing Race" type obstacle course which was ok if you wanted to see them run around but it didn't have anything to do with golf. Anyway, I'm glad to be watching the show along with you all!

I agree with the previous post, I have a blended set, 5-PW in AP2's and then a 18 and 24 909H hybrids. The AP2's are my first forged set and they're a blast to hit. I hit them well and they still give me enough forgiveness. I originally had planned to go with the AP1 because I thought I needed the forgiveness but my fitter saw my performance on the AP1 and had me try the AP2 and said I was "good enough" to play AP2. Since then, I've been hitting them well, still trying to get used to them but I am hitting the ball better. The 2 degrees upright helps a ton too!

I just got fitted for a 909F2 3W and the launch monitor said the Matrix Ozik Xcon5 shaft is what I'm getting. I got the same shaft on the 909D2 as well. I cant' wait, woohoo!

I too just picked up a Squareback on Ebay and I can't wait to take it for a spin. I currently have a Newport 2.5 and I love it, but I'm curious to see how this squareback will treat me. I hear it's the same weight, just a bigger back but I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on it yet. Thanks!

I agree, the AP2's are muted, but the feeling when you hit a ball square on the face is just as exhilarating as the other clubs. The AP2's are my first forged set of clubs and I've been very happy with them so far. I got fitted and the standard Rifle Project X 5.5 shafts were perfect for me, high laungh, low spin, the magic combo. Mine are 2 degrees upright so they have a nice, natural draw on them, which I think the upright helps with. I did want to try the new Nike VR split cavity irons but I got the AP2's instead, no regrets so far. I went from all Nike clubs to all Titleist now.

I've always been a fan of the Nike Clubs, and I was using the SQ2 5900 for a while and the sq2 3W. I liked them all, the sound and shape didn't bother me. I switched to Titleist only because I got fitted recently and got a great deal on the Titleist clubs. I think you made a good choice, I hope the shafts work to your advantage.

I'll echo Zappa's post, that getting fit makes a tremendous amount of difference. I've been playing golf for 9 years with stock clubs and shafts. I've tinkered with different shafts in my driver and 3W without getting fitted. I recently got married and my wife was getting me new clubs so I figured I should get fitted for them. Right off the bat, my new irons have a nice draw on them (they're 2 degrees upright) and the new shafts in them make the ball go higher but without all the spin. My driver and 3W are on order but they put me in a better shaft and lie and I can't wait to hit them. I still feel I'm wildly inconsistent, but hopefully the new clubs will straighten me out. If you get the chance, get fitted, it will change your game for the better, always.

I too think new new shoes are a must. I used to wear Nike's and they were just as comfortable as their sneakers, however I'd find that after 6-8 months, the air bubble in the heal would leak and my heal would feel the supports in the air bubble, if that makes sense. I next tried Footjoy and I find that there is a break-in period with those shoes. I have a pair of the reel-fit ones and I do like them, but in the 3 pairs of Foot Joy shoes I've owned, I feel that they get stuffy and warm. My most recent and current pair of shoes are Adidas ones and they're fantastic. They have a wide toebox and comfortable cushion. I play often so I think I'll get another pair and rotate or something, ha!

I just got fitted for a new Titleist driver myself and the numbers on the monitor showed me that I need the D2 and Matrix Ozik Xcon 5 shaft. I thought I'd like the DComp but the D2 was the best one for me. Good luck!

IMHO, I think if you have "moist" hands, then gloves are important to have, since with certain grips like corded grips, they can tear your hands up. The softer grips like Winn are softer. My hands are really dry, so combined with the soft Winn grips, I don't wear a glove. If I play 36 in one day, then I will wear a glove from start to finish because that second 18 will hurt plenty. I've often wondered about corded grips, such as Titleist. I just put an order in for AP2 irons and those will have the corded grips and I'll be switching those out before the first round with them. I can't stand the corded grips and i just like something a bit softer.

Easy, there, I wouldn't compare it to the Ryder Cup or President's Cup. Not to sound cynical, but this is a money making event for IMG. All the guys aren't playing for personal glory or club pride, they're playing for money and a decent chunk for just two day's pay. If it were truly to be compared to a Ryder or President's cup, then open it up to the public and let them see the competition. Don't make it a social event where only residents and invited guests can watch it. It's just another way for IMG to make money for themselves and their players. The only benefit we get is to watch Tiger and some other good players wear the most gawdawful golf shirts in the world. By the way, can those shirts get any more ugly? Every year the Tavistock Cup uni's get uglier and uglier.

Hi there! Hilton Head Island is one of my favorite places to visit. The island has a charm about it that you can't find anywhere else in my opinion. You can't go wrong with the Hilton Head diner which is on the main drag before you get to the Sea Pines area. The Salty Dog is a place where everyone goes to get a t-shirt and if you're landing at Savannah, on the way into HHI I recommend stopping at Jim and Nick's BBQ, good stuff! You'll have tons of fun on any of the golf courses there, the last time I was there in 04, they were working on something at the Ocean course, but I think they're done by now. That place has so many good courses, you could spend a lifetime there and not even play every one of them. Have fun!