Hataoka missed a chance for the second 59 in LPGA Tour history, finishing with a 10-under 61 and a 4-stroke lead in the Marathon LPGA Classic.
Golfing News & Blog Articles
Stay up-to-date on golfing news, products, and trends from around the world.
Putting really is a crap shoot but the more you practice the luckier your will get. So how did John Rahm sink his 25 foot curving putts on the last 2 holes at the US Open? John gave credit to his new Odyssey Hot White putter but his putter also missed a number of other putts that week. When it comes down to putting success, every putter can sink every putt, if you choose the right line and swing with the right speed. So what should you do to sink more putts?
The professional tournaments are played on greens unlike anything that many of us will ever play. The surface of the greens for the 2021 US Open were setup with a 14 on the Stimpmeter (a ramp device used to measure the rolling speed of a golf ball on greens). Public courses are setup with about an 8 to a 10 on the Stimpmeter and Private courses are setup with anywhere from 9 to 13. I was fortunate enough to play on The Bears Club (a private Jack Nicklaus course) just prior to The Masters a few years ago, when that course was setup for the tour pros to play on greens with putting speeds like Augusta National Golf Club with a Stimpmeter of 14. Putting on those greens is like putting in another world. The pros have no choice but to adjust their swing rhythm to accommodate the speed of those greens.
Lining up your putter with your ball is critical. This image shows a ball which is lined up OUTSIDE of the center-line. It will NOT hit a putt down it’s intended target line. Don’t do this!
What should you do to sink more putts on every course that you play?
1/ The Stimpmeter of greens is different on every course and it also changes during the day as the greens dry out with sun load during the time that it takes to play 18 holes. Even the pros suffer from the increased speeds of the greens as they approach the end of their round. They often second guess the speeds and end up hitting short of the hole as they try to reduce their putting speed. Don’t fall into this trap after you make a few surprising longer putts followed by putts that are short of the hole. Pay attention to the changing putting speed of the greens and adjust your swing accordingly.
2/ Practice Putting Greens: Never start a round of golf until your hit some long and short putts on the practice putting green. It should be setup to match the Stimpmeter speed of the greens on the course. Tune-up your putting speed before you start your round.
3/ Damage Near the Hole: Too many golfers destroy the roll of the green near the hole when they lean on their putter to bend down and remove their ball from the hole. A slight rise around the lip of the cup (caused by poor cup placement), is also a problem that will keep a weakly hit putt out of the hole. Firm putts (that can pass the hole by up to 2 feet) will have a much better chance of sinking.
4/ Slope at the Hole: Often the sadistic person who sets up the daily hole locations will place the hole on the edge of a slope. [It’s the only enjoyment they have as they think of the missed putts that they will cause.] If the hole is on a minor slope make sure that you choose a line closer to the hole and make a firm putt. If the hole is on a major slope, putt on a line above the hole with the perfect pace to die down into the hole.
5/ Long Putts are Lag Putts: Even the pros are happy to make 2 putts when they land a long way from the hole. Read the break and try to putt with a speed that will break down to the hole as it slows down.
6/ All Putts Break More Severely as they Slow Down: Putts slow down at the end of their journey as they near the hole so a firm putt will make less of a break as it passes the hole. Jack Nicklaus tried to let his putts die into the hole. He won a lot of tournaments doing that but you do have a better chance to sink a putt if you make firm putts which stay straighter as they pass the hole. Brooks Koepka sinks a lot of shorter pressure putts by BANGING them into the back of the hole.
It does not matter what putter you like to play with. They all sink putts. Get a putt that you like so that you can build confidence with it. Knowing that you can sink putts will allow you to sink more putts. Choose your target line and rock your shoulders to hit every putt on the center line of your putter face directly up your target line. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading wrist flat (to control your direction). Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com
Golf Truism #66: If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.
Faces of the NCGA: Jim Valenti–Age Shooter
July 8, 2021
Do you dream of shooting your age someday? Data suggests that the odds are less than 9 in 1,000,000. For comparison, the odds of making a hole-in-one are 9 in 112,500.
Over at The Villages Golf and Country Club, a retirement community for those ages 55-plus, Men’s Club member Jim Valenti, age 84, does it regularly. The Villages officials discovered his accomplishments several years ago and have been tracking his scores since. At age 84, the frequency is increasing. (62% of the time in 2021).
Recently, on July 2 Jim posted an 80, marking this as the 200th time he has posted a score at or below his age.
- About to start his first event as a major champion, Jon Rahm was taking some practice swings on the first tee at the Scottish Open when his status as golf's hottest player was underlined.
As of Thursday, 99% of the money wagered on a golf prop bet asking if Charles Barkley would finish in the top 70 at the American Century Championship was placed on yes.
Kevin Na has withdrawn from the British Open next week at Royal St. George's because of the international travel requirements getting to England.
2021 Putting Mat Buyer’s Guide
How’s your putting? Not good?
One solution its to pick up one of the best putting mats for 2021 and a good set of irons, and you’ll be on your way to shooting lower scores.
Take it from us when we say a putting mat isn’t just a putting mat. We tested the best putting mats on the market to see which ones roll like your country club greens, offer options like break and speed and how durable they are.
Some indoor putting mats are for drills while others are just to groove your stroke. Whatever your preference, we have you covered.
Read on.
Former Masters and U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison for assaulting his former partner.
We can all do perform better when we have good information. A clear understanding and vision of how things really work. In this video I will try to share important keys to help you start to hit the ball with more accuracy via a few simple concepts. Watch…
A few notes to consider:
We hit straight shots by swinging in circles/arcs
The clubhead does not need to travel ‘down the line’ after impact
There is no need for every golfer (RH) to work towards swinging to right field. Chronic slicers might need to do this for a while, but not forever!
Introducing RomaRo Ray V V1 460 Driver, A new driver that is RomaRo’s low-spin model providing a medium trajectory that achieves both a soft feel and a strong trajectory. RomaRo has a newly developed “Double Titanium Face” that incorporates high-strength titanium that is absolutely advantageous for flying. In addition to the high resilience performance of high-strength titanium, the launch direction can be controlled neutrally to hit both draws and fades with confidence.
The new “double titanium face” uses a high-strength titanium “DAT55G” cup face that is integrally molded to the body and crown. V-shaped protrusions aka (CNC Fang’s) are provided on the left and right sides of the thinned clamp cup face, and the upper and lower winding parts are further thinned and grooves (Speed Groove) are provided to realize a “core attack area”
Forgiving and deep faced with great feel and distance was the Aim. The face is made of DAT55G Titanium with an 811 Ti precision cast body. This driver features Adjustable weighting with optional 1,3,5,7 gram weights with wrench.
TourSpecGolf can offer heads only or custom shafts from a variety of high end shaft companies. For custom requests please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
RomaRo Ray V V1 460 Driver Specification
MyGolfSpy Ball Lab is where we quantify the quality and consistency of the golf balls on the market to help you find the best ball for your money.
About the TaylorMade Tour Response
The TaylorMade Tour Response is the replacement for the Project (a). That was a ball that got a lot of love among connoisseurs of soft golf balls and rightfully so, I suppose. The Project (a), and now the Tour Response, are among the softest urethane-covered balls on the market. And while TaylorMade is not immune to the liabilities of soft (soft really is slow), greenside spin was a bit better than similar balls. We’d expect that to carry over with the Tour Response, due in no small part to the noticeably thin cover.
TaylorMade Tour Response — Compression
On our gauges, the TaylorMade Tour Response measures 71 compression points on average. That equals the softest balls in our database—a list that includes the Bridgestone Tour B RXS and Vice Pro Soft. For reference, we’re talking about a handful of points softer than the Callaway Chrome Soft.
TaylorMade Tour Response — Diameter and Weight
Starting with the good: Not a single ball in our TaylorMade Tour Response sample failed to meet our standard of roundness.
After plenty of laughs and playful jabs at one another, Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers scored a 3-and-2 win against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in "The Match" on Tuesday in Montana.
Nobody was certain about the level of golf in this installment of The Match. But everyone knew there would be trash talk and other memorable moments.
Introducing the 2021 KYOEI KK Heritage Cavity Back Iron! A very simple and classic design featuring some notable improvements in shape and design. KYOEI has decided to continue the evolution of their original cavity back but further improve it by using an all-new mold, new grind, and shape adjustments. The Heritage series will stay true to the molds and classic aesthetics that their clients return for.
For those unfamiliar with the brand, KYOEI is a factory located in Ichikawa Japan (HIMEJI). It is known today as Japan’s original golf club foundry and factory. Many industry masters have honed their skills within their walls, even old man Miura was an employee there and openly praises KYOEI as the job where he learned about forging techniques and perfected his grinding. He is not the only one though, countless industry masters have learned during extended and sometimes even short visits.
KYOEI is still today the only factory in all of Japan to do forging, grinding, finishing, and polishing, they stock hundreds of heavy molds to produce some of the world’s most famous one-piece forgings.
The new 2021 KK Heritage CB features a very little offset, a thin topline with slightly heavier heads and lofts based on a 46* pitching wedge. It is designed for the mid to low handicap player or even the professional golfer looking for a single-piece forged players cavity design that produces an amazing feel with excellent accuracy and workability. Forged, finished, and ground at KYOEI using premium Japanese forgings for the most demanding golfers.
Areas of improvement over its predecessor include reduced offset, improved neck transition, shorter heel-to-toe length, new sole # stamping font, updated 3-cut sole, and custom paint fill offered. These adjustments take the classic KK CB to a whole new level for the JDM enthusiast.
Spirit of the Game: Jon Rahm’s Spanish Breakthrough
July 5, 2021
Torrey Pines delivered again. Seventy-second hole. Birdie putt. A delirious crowd going wild for one of the pre-championship favorites.
Thirteen years ago, it was Tiger Woods who delivered the “Expect anything different” putt heard around the world.
On a cool, overcast Sunday in 2021, it was Jon Rahm hammering home the most memorable 24-foot birdie putt of his young career, one that gave the fiery Spaniard a one-stroke victory over Louis Oosthuizen in the 121st U.S. Open Championship.
The heckling has been going on for weeks. On Tuesday, they finally meet on the golf course, where Rodgers' future, DeChambeau's breakup with his caddie and so much more could be put on the table alongside their golf games.
It is estimated that roughly 10 percent of all golfers in the U.S. maintain a handicap. With a total golfing population approaching 25 million, that means we’re really looking at a pool of about 2.5 million golfers.
It’s not surprising that most golfers don’t have a registered handicap. The vast majority play recreationally, may (or may not) keep score and kinda/sorta follow the Rules of Golf.
All that aside, here are a couple of nuggets you might find interesting.
Citing the most recent USGA data, the average index for men is 16.4. For women, it’s 27.3.
Fewer than 2% of all male golfers are scratch (0.0 index) or better. For female golfers, that number drops to 0.7%.
A professional golfer and two other men were killed in a shooting at an Atlanta-area country club and the suspect is still at large, authorities said.
After a dominant run, Ko had failed to finish in the top 10 in four of her previous five starts before Sunday.
