Golfing News & Blog Articles

Brandel Chamblee will be on the call for next month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

Chamblee, one of the most polarizing voices in the game, will join a four-man booth for NBC, Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal reports. He will be joined by play-by-play man Dan Hicks, Brad Faxon and Mike Tirico.

The lead analyst position has been a revolving door for NBC, a network that has come under fire for coverage struggles and mismanagement of a heavy commercial load.

Paul Azinger was not renewed after a four-year run as lead analyst, leading NBC to try out a rotation of analysts throughout 2024. Chamblee, Faxon, Kevin Kisner, Notah Begay III and Luke Donald have all been involved during the audition process.

Kisner appeared to have a leg up on the competition after getting strong reviews early in the season. However, he opted out of covering the U.S. Open, citing a previous commitment.

What We Tried

The Fairway Series golf mat (5’x5’) from the Indoor Golf Shop.

Who Tried It

Tony Covey. MyGolfSpy Editorial Director and a guy just trying to make the most out of a limited-height indoor hitting environment.

Key Features

The reported features of the Fairway Series mat include:It’s realistic – like hitting off a fairwayInjury prevention – turf density made to be hit on every day by everyday golfersAll-day comfort – See above. Built for all-day, pain-free use.It’s durable – strong, reliable, and built to last

A Bit of Background

Last year, I tested the Indoor Golf Shop’s Sigpro Softy –  a lightweight three-piece mat with a removable/replaceable/interchangeable (choose your word) hitting strip.

I love the lightweight, modular design (it’s so easy to move it around) but, as you may recall, I’m working in a limited height environment (about 8’7” from slab to joist) and the three-piece Softy is a bit on the tall side. While an inch or two of height doesn’t sound like much, the thinner the mat, the longer the club I can swing without rattling the joists under my kid’s room.

In my height-challenged environment, the difference between the Softy and the Fairway Series is the difference between maxing out with a 6-iron instead of a 7.

Everyone’s time is valuable. We cherish our time on the golf course and many of us just wish we had more time in the day to play or practice.

Whether it is work, family or whatever else may be going on in life, finding the time to practice can be a challenge. What’s worse is wasting that precious time on skills or drills that won’t help your game.

We can help! Read on.

Putting Training

PuttOut Pressure Trainer

This one is pretty straightforward. If you follow MyGolfSpy, you will have heard about these a lot. The PuttOut Pressure trainer is a wonderfully frustrating putting tool that provides immediate feedback, precise practice and scalable difficulty. It is small, portable, and can be used anywhere that you can roll a golf ball. It may make you want to pull your hair out but it will make you a better putter.

Putting Mat

Having a good putting mat is valuable. We have done several reviews on Amazon putting mats but a slightly larger investment in a higher-quality mat might be warranted.

The PGA Championship officially has Tiger Woods in a field released Tuesday that also includes invitations to seven players from Saudi-funded LIV Golf.

If you're struggling with mishits from greenside bunkers, Cleveland Golf ambassador Jake Hutt has some advice.

The post Short-sided in a greenside bunker? Here’s how to get up and down appeared first on Golf.

The 2024 Wells Fargo Championship gets underway Thursday. Here are 6 picks our betting expert loves (and why he thinks you should too).

The post Wells Fargo Championship betting guide: 6 picks our expert loves this week appeared first on Golf.

On the day NBC announced its U.S. Open coverage, NBC executive producer Sam Flood went deep on the state of the network's golf plans.

The post NBC Golf chief dishes on ‘false’ allegations, analyst plans, broadcast strategy appeared first on Golf.

The field for next week's PGA Championship is now finalized. A number of LIV golfers benefitted but one is on the outside looking in.

The post 6 LIV players receive last-minute major invites, leaving 1 surprise omission appeared first on Golf.

With growth and innovation as its focus, SuperStroke has announced the purchase of the 100-year-old Lamkin golf grip company.

The post Grip maker SuperStroke acquires historic brand Lamkin Grips appeared first on Golf.

Lee Trevino recently gave Ben Crenshaw a quick lesson captured by the PGA Tour Champions social team. Here's what you can learn from it.

The post Lee Trevino gave Ben Crenshaw ball-striking advice that all golfers should heed appeared first on Golf.

We tested Cleveland's Smart Sole Full-Face wedges to find out if they make club selection around the greens easier.

The post I tried it: These user-friendly wedges make short-game shots much easier appeared first on Golf.

The new line of MacGregor MT Milled Putters is the latest entry in a putter category that’s easy to overlook, basically because it’s so small: High-quality 100-percent milled putters for less than $200.

You have Cleveland’s HB SOFT Milled line starting at $199.99 which, technically, is under $200. Costco’s Anser-style Kirkland Signature KS-1 is $149.99 (when you can find it) and there’s maybe a handful of others.

That’s about it. And the fact is that most of them are actually cast into a rough putter shape and then CNC milled into their final shape. When you start whittling the list down to putters that are 100-percent milled from a single billet of carbon steel for under $200, the list gets even shorter.

There’s Maltby, Hogan and MacGregor. I know you’ll let us know if we’re missing any but the point remains that it’s a really short list.

The question as to whether a putter that’s 100-percent milled from a single piece of carbon is any better than one that’s cast and then milled is unanswerable. More precisely, it’s one that we can’t answer. Only you can, based on what performs better for you. But on the grand scorecard of whether a putter has to be $400 to get the ball in the damned hole, the new MacGregor MT Milled line goes on the “Hell no, it doesn’t” side of the ledger.

It is the end of an era—and the start of a new one—for the longest-running grip manufacturer in golf.

Lamkin Grips, a family business that has spanned three generations, has been purchased by SuperStroke, a leading putter grip company that came online in 2009.

“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” said SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs.

“If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”

Lamkin started in 1925 and supplied leather grips for the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and others. In 1995, Lamkin released the Crossline, the most popular grip in its history.

About this time last year, I started to see an influx of threads and posts on the MyGolfSpy Forum about 7-woods. Most of these threads asked if members were using them and, if so, which ones and, most importantly, why?

Whether it was because of noticing these threads or being in search of a club to fill that spot in my bag, to me it seemed the topic of 7-woods was popping up everywhere. I even noted that more PGA Tour players were putting 7-woods into play. This led me to several key questions: Are more golfers gaming 7-woods? What clubs are they replacing 7-woods with? And what is making the 7-wood such a special club?

Finding Answers

A quick Google search on the topic highlights many articles suggesting that, yes, more golfers are using 7-woods. There was even a Reddit thread from a few months ago asking why it is so hard to find a used 7-wood to purchase. There was also a publication that had (as of October 2022) suggested that more than 25 percent of pros use a 7-wood.

Shot Scope Data

However, I wanted more concrete evidence of this apparent growing trend. The first place I went was Shot Scope. As MyGolfSpy’s official on-course data partner, they have more data than I would ever know what to do with.

I got a quick response back and was a little surprised at the numbers. According to Shot Scope, here is a breakdown of 7-wood users across various handicaps:

Odyssey Golf released the Ai-ONE putter line recently and it comes with a whole bunch of upgrades over the previous Tri-Hot 5k line you may have read about in 2023’s Most Wanted Mallet Putters.

This year, Odyssey equipped the Ai-ONE Putter line with a unique White Hot face insert designed to get your putts closer to the hole. Looking through the Ai-ONE window on certain models shows the unique topography of the insert. This is supposed to keep a consistent ball speed on all puts, even if you miss the sweet spot.

Also included in the Ai-ONE lineup of putters is the SL90 shaft which is an updated take on Stroke Lab tech with a counterbalance weight included in the design to appeal to even more golfers. Lastly, the heads are colored in a navy-blue PVD that sets them apart from the crowd and offers a premium look.

Selection Process

Our Forum staff handpicked four testers for the Odyssey Ai-ONE putters. After our testers completed their fittings and submitted final specs, putters were built and shipped out for their review.

How much closer to the hole would the Ai-ONE putters get our testers to the hole? Read on to find out!

Annika Sorenstam revisits what it was like to step away from the game to start a family, plus sharing the spotlight at the PNC with son Will.

The post Annika Sorenstam on how motherhood has changed her, and sharing the spotlight with son Will appeared first on Golf.

He's a certain first ballot Hall of Famer. So why can't Albert Pujols get a game with the G.O.A.T.? 'The Machine' explains.

The post Albert Pujols Q&A: ‘The Machine’ talks playing Michael Jordan’s course appeared first on Golf.

What do you do if you ball moves — and you're already in the middle of your backswing? Rules Guy has the answer.

The post Rules Guy: My ball moved in the middle of my backswing. Now what? appeared first on Golf.