March 2007

Here’s a little nougat of truth for you: Tiger’s better than every professional golfer in the world today. And most of them from yesterday.

Okay. All of them except two or three. So far.

He’s now 13 of 24 in WGC events after outlasting everybody at Doral.

Brett Wetterich had a chance to put some heat on him and couldn’t make a putt. Tiger would have made both of those if it had been him chasing Wetterich.

Don’t believe it ? Ask Bob May.

I was there at Valhalla. I lived in Louisville at the time. Live just outside of it now.

The guys on the European Tour are glad Tiger doesn’t invade their realms very often.

The guys who play here in the States are playing for second. Like Wetterich was doing today.

Will he blow away the field at The Masters in a few weeks ?

Probably.

Unless Vijay makes every putt he looks at or Phil has Jack Nicklaus clubbing him and managing the course for him.

Phil’s got all the shots. What he doesn’t have is the will to play it safe like Tiger did on 18 on Sunday at Doral.

Until he does, Tiger’s The Man.

Thru my good golf blog buddy Mediaguru ( Tony Korologos ) I just read about Titleist launching a Tour blog.They chose WordPress, good choice, and kept it simple and clean, which means it’s easy to read.

I’m not a big fan of the “Read more …” tags, but I guess I can click thru if I want to read the rest of the story.

Over at The Wedge Guy, which my staff built for Terry Koehler, we didn’t use that feature, as I believe that it just gets fewer people to read an article.

Think about it. If you have to click a link to read the article, you have to be REALLY interested by the headline and I’m betting their headline writing skills are not as good as my friend Copyblogger’s are.

If the rest of the article/post is already there, the reader is more like to continue reading and more likely to come back for more at a later date.

I also agree with Tony about their need for a Blog Roll, which is definitely needed, as I just added them to mine.

BTW, Tony, you need to get rid of that need to be logged in to comment thang. I don’t do that to you over here at Travelling Golfer !

Good luck to Titleist and welcome to the wonderful world of golf blogs !

My feed reader just alerted me to a post from Bogey Lounge that say SI has relaunced Golf.com.

Wow ! That’s a gorgeous site. Clean, easy to read, no harsh colors.

Nice.

Wonder if they need another golf writer ? A golf blogger ? Wonder if they want to link to me ? Or republish my RSS feed ?

I hope so.

I’ll be a regular visitor and I encourage you to click thru to visit Golf.com now.

I’m not one to take “satisfaction or pleasure in someone else’s misfortune”, which is how dictionary.com defines the word schadenfreude (see above), but I’m enjoying Tiger’s final round at Bay Hill simply because it’s the very way I usually finish off a 76.

I do, however, take it better than El(drick) Tigre does. He’s pissed with a 76 and I’m ready to buy an RC Cola and a Moonpie for everybody in the clubhouse when I shoot a 76. I do insist they get the canned drinks though … they’re cheaper.

El Tigre began the day 5 shots back, which would have tied his biggest comeback on the PGA Tour, has he been able to put together another miraculous effort.

He started well, with birdies on his first two holes, but stalled out and never regained the momentum he needed to stage one of his classic charges.

El Tigre ended his hopes for a Sunday charge by three-putting for double bogey on the 11th hole and his day then went from not-very-Tigerlike to even worse.

His tee ball went swimming on the par-3 17th, in honor of National Geographic’s special on Galapagos being shown on Sunday, and he carded a double bogey.

His tee ball on the 18th found the rough, forcing him to chip out. He promptly hit his third into the water, in hopes of finding the tee ball from the previous hole ( I’m guessing here ) and he made triple bogey.

You’d think Nike would give him enough free golf balls that he wouldn’t have to search for one’s he hits into the water. Sheesh !

That finish gave him a 43 on the back nine for a 6-over 76, his highest score in a regular PGA Tour event since a 76 in the third round of the Memorial four years ago, which was the last time I visited metro Columbus as a Memorial tournament attendee.

He finished tied for 22nd, ending his streak of 13 straight Top 10’s worldwide, nine of those on the PGA Tour.

Another streak down the drain.

He left the course without comment, which is completely opposite of how I leave when I shoot 76. I’m really loud about collecting all the quarters owed to me and I always comment. Always.

Did anyone else miss the Survivor style blog off that Heather over at WorldGolf.com’s Blogger Leaderboard is hosting ?

I’m not sure how I missed it, but I did just email her and beg to be included.

Check it out and see if you want to join in.

This time it was Heath Slocum.

Last week it was Boo Weekly. BTW - Boo doesn’t even have a photo available on the PGA Tour’s website. Shame on them.

The former teammates at Milton (FL) High School had chances to win (Boo) and get in a playoff (Heath) in successive weeks and missed putts of 3 feet or less.

And lest you think I’m bashing them, I’d l-o-v-e to have been in their positions both times … even if I’d missed the putts like they did.

On the PGA Tour, second pays well.

Congrats to Heath and Boo from a former resident of Pensacola Beach (FL), where I loved living as much or more than anywhere I’ve ever been.

EDIT 3/18/07 - Here’s a link to this same line of stories over at the New York Times. It also mentions that our boy Bubba Watson is also a former Milton High School golfer.

Mark Calcavecchia was quoted as having said the USGA’s proposal to limit the amount of spin produced by grooves in the irons was “ridiculous.”

It was his 8-iron out of the rough in the ‘87 Honda Classic that spun back on the green that first got the USGA’s attention, leading to lawsuits that were settled out of court. “It’s not the grooves,” he said. “It’s the ball.”

Recently the President of a wedge manufacturing company also spoke about the USGA’s proposal on grooves.

I just spent 3 days in Louisville (KY) with the Professional Clubmakers Society at a conference and I can tell you it was an issue that was very much in their thoughts.

I also believe that the ball is a BIG part of the spin issue, like Calc says, but I don’t see the USGA agreeing with us and limiting the ball any more than it’s already regulated.

If you want to play a set of wedges that are as close the the limits of the amount of spin allowed by the USGA, follow this link to the best wedges made.

Briana Vega became an enthusiastic believer in PeakVision Sports eyewear en route to her victory in the ladies’ competition of “The Big Break VI: Trump National,” the latest installment of The Golf Channel’s popular reality-based program.

Vega wore PEAKS from tee to green as she battled her way through the intense competition, even though wearing PeakVision Sports sunglasses was optional for all 18 Big Break VI contestants. In fact, Vega clinched the title while wearing PeakVision Sports’ popular SD7 model for her final approach shot and birdie putt at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles.

After winning the competition Vega said,

” I felt like my PEAKS were a secret weapon that I didn’t even have to think about. Everything seemed much crisper, clearer and cleaner than when I didn’t wear them. One thing is for sure, now I won’t play golf without them. “

Like their predecessors on “The Big Break V: Hawaii,” the Big Break VI’s cast of 18 contestants - nine male and nine female - enjoyed access to the full suite of PeakVision Sports’ high-performance eyewear, including the recently introduced Special Edition models of the GR4 and CL1 frames. Both Big Break V finalists wore PEAKS while playing many shots on their way to the title match last season, including winner Ashley Prange.

PeakVision Sports sunglasses have proved highly popular among professional golfers. PGA Tour players Billy Andrade and Scott McCarron, Champions Tour mainstay Bruce Fleisher, golf “color” commentator David Feherty, and up-and-coming LPGA Tour players Moira Dunn, Mikaela Parmlid, Beth Bader, Jean Bartholomew, Becky Morgan and Heather Young are among those professional players who count PEAKS as an integral component in their golf equipment arsenal.

In addition to golfers performing at higher levels wearing PeakVision Sports sunglasses, they are also popular among skiers, professional baseball umpires and pilots where vision is critical to performance.

Features and Benefits

* Neutral-density gray tinting in the upper lens zone that reduces glare and promotes accurate distance perception

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* Distortion-free, non-polarized lenses for better reading of greens and discerning distances from tee to green

* Revolutionary lenses constructed from a shatterproof optical polymer originally developed for Apache helicopter windscreens

* Superior clarity, scratch resistance, durability and ultra-light weight compared to polycarbonate, a 40-year-old lens material used by the majority of sunglass makers

* 100 percent UV400 A/B/C protection from the entire spectrum of dangerous UV radiation

* Rated superior to other leading sunglass brands in a study by Dr. Craig Farnsworth (the “Putt Doctor”)

* Recommended by renowned sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella to instill trust and confidence on the course

I checked my server logs and see 1957 hits last month from Canada, so I thought I’d pay tribute by showing off the Stealth Putter, from Daito Golf, which was named Canadian Product Of The Year for 2006.

” The Stealth putter combines a new unique design along with exceptional alignment to inspire confidence, consistency and stability for today’s golfer. 100% CNC Machined from lightweight aluminum alloy, the Stealth putter features a proprietary cavity back design aa copper-nickel precision fit face insert to establish exquisite feel and outstanding at impact. ”

Click thru and check out all the offerings from Daito Golf, or click thru and check out how to get Masters tickets by clicking on the image below.

From the St. Pete Times, we find out that Disney plans another world-class golf resort.

How much land is there left in Orlando and how can they possibly need another world-class golf resort ?

” Walt Disney World unveiled plans Thursday to develop 1,350 acres of its vast property, including a massive luxury resort in a partnership with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Disney also plans to build up to 5,000 value-priced hotel rooms on 450 acres around the first formal western gateway to the park, built to serve new highway access there. “

I’m thinkin’ there’s more than enough golf courses and homes in Orlando to last for eons, but they’ve gotta do something with all those profits, don’t they ?

Click thru and read the whole story, or if you don’t want to then click the link below to go look at a way to get some tickets to The Masters.