Golfing News & Blog Articles

My experience as a coach has been that when a golfer sets out to improve one part of their game and they fully commit to making the upgrade over time, they almost always reach their objective. Watch…

This is the perfect opportunity to sit down and evaluate what went well for you as a golfer in 2020 and where you’d like to make gains. Write it down, come up with a plan and then commit fully to the process.

My goal this year is to increase my ability to move as an athlete. That incorporates flexibility, strength and agility. My goal is to be able to get to 170mph ball speed while playing a round of golf and I’m currently at 166.8mph when on the range. There’s a long road to go yet, but I have a plan that involves both the physical elements and the practical side.

What are you going to achieve on the golf course in 2021?

Let’s do it together!

PING G425 Fairway Woods, Hybrids and Crossover

KEY TAKEAWAYS

More consistent spin through modified face rollIncreased model varietyMSRP: Fairway ($327.50), hybrid ($292.50), Crossover ($250)

The PING G425 fairway woods and hybrids focus on small improvements that serve as steps toward a larger goal. For those familiar with PING, this comes as absolutely no surprise. PING rarely makes egregious design mistakes. Then again, it rarely swings for the fences. The benefit of such an approach is that each subsequent release builds incrementally off the previous one. Major rebuilding efforts are rare and typically unnecessary.

PING’s design philosophy is clear: Maintain class-leading MOI (the basic measurement of forgiveness) and explore opportunities to increase performance in specific areas.

With the PING G425 fairway woods and hybrids, PING has two clear objectives. First, provide golfers with more consistent spin, particularly on thin shots. Next is to create more separation between models.

PING may not be the most exciting equipment manufacturer from an advertising and marketing perspective. That said, such a pragmatic approach is part of the reason why, in our surveys, PING tends to draw positive associations from readers regarding terms such as engineering, performance, integrity and humility.

PING G425 Irons – Key Takeaways

PING’s new G-series game improvement irons feature a more compact look than G420.PING uses new metalwood-style Variable Face Thickness technology to boost ball speed.G425 features higher MOI and a slight left bias.$137.50 per club steel, $150 per club graphiteRetail availability on Feb. 4

Irons are like airports – they’re never really finished. There’s always something getting tweaked, improved or dressed up. The new PING G425 irons, for example, aren’t a total makeover compared to the now two-year-old G410 irons. They are, however, tweaked enough, dressed up enough and different enough to be considered an upgrade.

The G410 was an overall meh performer in MyGolfSpy’s Most Wanted Game Improvement during the last two years. What it lacked in ball speed, carry distance and accuracy it tried to make up for in forgiveness, launch angle and the vastly underrated category – for game-improvement irons, anyway – descent angle.

PING is usually on an 18-month release schedule with its irons but, thanks to COVID-19, the G410s received an extra six months in the spotlight. Do the upgrades to the new PING G425 irons make it worth the wait? Let’s take a look.

PING G425 Irons – Distance Without Loft-Jacking?

The game improvement iron category is tricky. Distance makes us all warm and mushy and it’s the easiest metric to digest in the hitting bay. But distance without consistency (aka forgiveness), playability and descent angle doesn’t necessarily help golfers play better or have more fun.

Better and fun, of course, is the PING wheelhouse.

PING G425 Driver Key Takeaways

The PING G425 Series of drivers is finally coming to North America and Europe.The 3 models, MAX, SFT, and LST offer exceptionally high MOI, slice correction, and low spin performance, respectively.Retail price is expected to be around $500.

Given the consistently excellent performance of PING drivers in Most Wanted testing over the last several years, expectations for the G425 lineup should rightfully be among the highest of any models hitting the U.S. market this year.

Still, it’s hard to overlook the buzz-killing reality that PING G425 drivers have been available in Australia and on the PGA TOUR for months. Combine that with the fact that PING is never the loudest or flashiest and there’s a chance the PING G425 drivers could get lost in the chaotic flurry of the spring release cycle regardless of their impressive debut elsewhere.

Nevertheless, despite a relatively subdued new color scheme and a less than sensational backstory, I like PING’s chances.

The last several years of Most Wanted testing have shown PING’s Plus/standard models to be steady, top-of-the-table performers. The SFT has differentiated itself as the ultimate slice killer and the LST has taken top honors with each of its two iterations.

The R&A announced Monday that Trump Turnberry will not be granted an Open "for the foreseeable future.'' Turnberry had been part of a 10-course rotation for The Open, but hasn't hosted the tournament since 2009.

Harris English won the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Sunday. It was his first career win since 2013.

The PGA of America voted to relocate the 2022 PGA Championship away from Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.

Justin Thomas apologized Saturday afternoon for uttering an anti-gay slur under his breath when he missed a 5-foot par putt on the fourth hole of the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Ryan Palmer went through a range of emotions over the final 15 minutes Saturday that ended with him posting a 9-under 64 for the best round of the week and a share of the lead with Harris English in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Harris English takes a two-shot lead into the weekend at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

January 8, 2021

Need to Know: 2021 NCGA Championships-New Looks

Featuring over 500 tournament days, the 2021 NCGA Championships calendar is again loaded with events for men and women players of all abilities.

This year, there are however some changes players will want to be aware of:

 

All entries into championships are now paperless. That means no more checks being sent in the mail. For club officers interested in more information please visit the Club Entry Information page at ncga.org.A new NCGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship has been created. The inaugural event will be held concurrently with the men’s Mid-Am. Both events are slated to tee off June 12-13 at Poppy Hills.The annual NCGA Public Links Championship will again held at both Poppy Hills and Pacific Grove Golf Links on the Monterey Peninsula. The split allows for a larger championship division and an additional three net flights instead of two. Players will still need to qualify.The annual NCGA Women’s Net Amateur has been moved to Friday-Saturday (July 9-10).The annual NCGA Women’s and Senior Women’s Amateur Championships will now consist of 54-holes instead of 36. There will be a 36-hole cut. The move means that the event now qualifies for World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points.The annual NCGA Valley and Senior Valley Amateur Championships will again be held in the Truckee region. One of the venues will again be Schaffer’s Mill. The other is still TBD. Stay tuned!The annual NCGA Associate Club Net Amateur Championship and NCGA Net Amateur Championship are now one. The two events have been combined into a single Net Amateur Championship, to be held Oct. 11-12 at Poppy Hills. The event will be open to all entrants (it is not a club event).The annual NCGA Women’s Four-Ball Net (Nov. 17-18 at Poppy Hills) is now known simply as the NCGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship. The event will have a full gross flight receiving points for the NCGA Women’s Player of the Year points program. Those points could also be applied to Senior Women’s POY standings if both partners are seniors and request the allotted points to be applied that way.The popular NCGA Mixed Team Fall Championship (Nov. 12-13) will be held exclusively at Poppy Hills. There will be no second venue.The annual season-ending NCGA Scramble Championship (Dec. 13-14) will again be held at two courses: Poppy Hills and Pacific Grove Golf Links.

 

 

The post NCGA Weekend Net Tour – Hiddenbrooke appeared first on Northern California Golf Association.

Picture it: You’ve been doing the Bryson DeChambeau regimen and now you’re on the first tee. You feel jacked. The protein powder is pulsing through your veins and the latest and greatest equipment is in your bag. That puny white ball is no match for the new you, despite a few aches from all of those squats you’ve been doing. As the ball explodes off the clubface, you watch it soar towards the trees with that spectacular slice you’ve yet to cure. After a couple of tries, you punch out of the woods and end up with a double bogey.

But, hey, you hit it 280, amiright?

Is Distance Everything?

Like many golfers looking to lower their score, you fell victim to the lie that you need to hit it far and that when you do it hit far, you’ll be happy. As you can see from my example, 280 into the woods is not as productive as 250 in the fairway.

Increasing distance should not be your top priority if you’re trying to improve your game. I preach fundamentals. Grip, posture, ball position and alignment should take precedence over 20 extra (wayward) yards off the tee. When those things are out of whack, you can’t and won’t make consistent solid contact with the ball. So all the pushups and pullups in the world won’t help you hit that par-5 in two.

Justin Thomas -- bidding to become the first back-to-back winner at Kapalua since 2010 -- and Harris English share the lead at 8-under 65 after the first round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Donald Trump presented Hall of Fame golfers Annika Sorenstam and Gary Player, along with the late Olympian Babe Didrikson Zaharias, the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday.

1. Have a daily morning routine

How you start your day has a big effect on what you achieve during it and how much you grow. Every day is precious and your morning routine can remind you of the importance of it. Most of the world’s most successful people start their day early enough to go through a daily morning ritual which sets the tone for a great day. If you think you “don’t have time” to spend 30-45 mins to practice meditation, visualization, gratitude and set goals for the day, then think again as it’s worth every minute of the time spent (and you more than get the time back with increased focus, energy and a positive attitude). Create the time by going to bed an hour earlier, so you can get up an hour earlier. Instead of reaching for your phone as soon as you wake up and exposing yourself to whatever news and communication might await, get your mind ready and prepared for making it the best day possible.

2. Define your success for the day and honor that commitment to yourself

Long-term goals are your dreams and your short-term goals are the daily and weekly attainable goals that take you closer to them. Achieving your short term daily goals gives you a hit of the feel good chemical Dopamine which increases motivation and effort. It’s important that you feel this sense of accomplishment and progress at the end of the day as it builds momentum.

Unfortunately, too many people don’t, because of the way they set their daily goals. From my experience, I think that daily input goals are better than output goals. With a huge list of tasks to do each day and success being measured by completion, it’s easy to feel like you underachieved. Instead, set goals by time spent, rather than the outcome. E.g. If you are writing a book, instead of setting the goal of “completing chapter 1” today, you set the goal of “writing 500 words”.

Try to do the same things at the same time each day e.g. My first task of the day is to check and respond to emails (and I try to limit email communication to this time). Routine makes tasks easier to do each day (as they become habits) and require less effort and energy, meaning you have more for being creative. Train your discipline each day – it will help you build self-trust, a factor of confidence.

3. Become more focused

Following on from #2, better focus should be an intention for each day. Studies prove that multi tasking only works for a very small percentage of people. To get the best out of yourself requires being able to stay focused on a task despite all the external and internal distractions that will be trying to get your attention (for most of us that comes from our phones). Make 2021 the year of self-control and spending less time being distracted. Build trust in yourself by knowing that you can resist the temptations of more pleasurable things to do during the time you’ve allocated to a task. If you don’t you’ll burn valuable time and energy by having to refocus and the quality of the output will not be as high. Being aware of what your distractions are will help you avoid them. By improving focus, you’ll notice that you can get better at staying immersed in a task (not distracted or thinking about the outcome of the task), which is synonymous with the “Flow State” and high performance. Developing this skill will help you stay calm, think clearly and focus on what you need to in the pressure moments on the golf course.

PXG 0211 IRONS: KEY TAKEAWAYS

Give golfers a more affordable option ($195 per club)Match specs of previous-generation 0311 GEN3 XP ironsDesigned to fit a broad range of players

There’s a bit of a curveball with the new PXG 0211 irons. They’re less expensive than you were probably thinking.

PXG isn’t like other golf equipment manufacturers. Companies like Ferrari, Rolex and others of their ilk build first and price later. Working without the typical constraints of time and cost can have its benefits. As a result, golfers expect a bit of sticker shock when perusing new PXG equipment. However, with the new PXG 0211 irons, the approach is a bit different.

PXG 0211 Irons: The Basics

The PXG 0211 irons are a cost-conscious entry into the PXG equipment line-up. When the 0311 GEN3 irons launched roughly 12 months ago, the stated price was $425 a club. For most golfers, that’s a deal-breaker

PXG 0211 Metalwoods – Key Takeaways

PXG has released a new 0211 lineup.Drivers, fairway woods and hybrids are available.Retail prices are below the market average – $375 driver, $325 fairway wood, $275 hybrid.

The start of a new year and the release of a full line of 0211 clubs provide PXG with an opportunity to reestablish its identity.

What’s true for most of us is true for PXG: 2020 was an odd year.

How’s that for an understatement?

To its credit, when COVID hit, PXG jumped ahead of the curve. It launched a pair of prototype drivers while extending its “Hero” military and first-responder discount program to the masses. The special pricing was set to expire after a month but was extended and extended again and again until Hero pricing simply became what their stuff costs.

A tech story behind the proto drivers was never discussed.

I recently sent out a Golf Truism with our weekly blog: “Why does it takes 17 holes to warm up?” That thought comes up when the golf Gods allow us to hit an amazing shot on the 18th hole to make sure that we come back again. It’s could be that or your body is tired so you are extremely relaxed or your mind has finally dropped all of its external thoughts so that you can finally focus on golf.

Staying relaxed and visualizing the shot that you want to make must be a controlling factor for your success. Swinging with all your might is definitely not a good solution. Golf is NOT a “no brainer”.

Don’t let your mind wander. Jack Nicklaus lost a Masters Tournament when he lost his concentration as he shook a fans hand during his walked up to the green on the 18th hole. He lost his focus and missed a key putt and lost the tournament. He commented in retrospect that he never did that again. If you want to be good at golf you need to zone in and tune out everything else. Keep your mind on your preparation and execution for each shot.

Great golfers take these 4 distinct steps:
1/ Clear their mind before they setup to execute their shot.
2/ Decide on the shot that they want to make (based on experience).
3/ Visualize their ball flight to their target.
4/ Zone into a rhythm for a full backswing and release to a balanced finish.

The mechanical components of their swing are NOT in their mind.

British golfers Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell have backed calls the recreational resumption of golf in England after courses in England were temporarily shut down.