Golfing News & Blog Articles

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USGA Names Nathan Smith, Mike McCoy Next Two Walker Cup Captains

Congrats to these two longtime competitors and keep them in your prayers as they captain at the Old Course and Cypress Point.

Mike McCoy in 2023 at St Andrews and Nathan Smith in 2025 at Cypress Point.

The full release:

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (March 9, 2022) – The USGA announced on Wednesday that Mike McCoy, of Des Moines, Iowa, will captain the USA Team for the 2023 Walker Cup Match on the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland and Nathan Smith, of Pittsburgh, Pa., will captain the USA Team for the 2025 Walker Cup Match at Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, Calif.

“Both Mike and Nathan have long, exceptional histories with the USGA and outstanding amateur golf resumes,” said Stu Francis, USGA president. “Given the historic nature of the next two matches being staged at St. Andrews and Cypress Point, we wanted to give both of them the time to enjoy this leadership opportunity and plan their next few years accordingly. We congratulate each of them on an honor well deserved and look forward to watching them lead two talented USA Teams.”

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Mike Tirico's Sitdown Interview With Jay Monahan

My inspiration comes from the golfers themselves, who in spite of kicking and cursing, find that a trip around a Pete Dye golf course is always memorable. Golf has given me a life that is rich in experience, personal achievement and friendship, but I find the greatest satisfaction in believing that I have somehow contributed to making the game I love a more exciting one to play.  PETE DYE

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#ASKMYGOLFSPY – WEDGES

How often should I replace my wedges?

Titleist says you should think about replacing your wedges after 75 rounds. While that sounds exactly like what somebody trying to sell you a wedge would say, it is a reasonable estimate based on typical use.
The more you use your wedge, the more the grooves will wear. When that happens, you’ll start to lose friction which means launch angles, lower spin, and more roll out.
Things like hitting an abundance of sand shots, banging on beat-up hardcover range balls, or choosing to play an unplated (raw) wedge will accelerate groove wear. Softer, forged wedges will typically wear faster too.
Unless you play most of your golf inside, there’s an argument to be made that when it’s time to replace the grip, it’s time to replace the wedge.

How much does wedge weight matter?
As with any fitting question, the right answer is almost certainly “it depends”. The idea is that additional weight helps you create more momentum on shorter shots.

As a rule of thumb, your pitching wedge should be a few swing weight points heavier than your 9-iron. Your lob wedge a couple points heavier still.
It’s not uncommon for wedge swing weights to be as high as D5 or D6 and I have friends who play closer to D8. Some of that will be driven by the shaft. Stock shafts for aftermarket/specialty wedges tend to be closer to tour weight, so if you typically play light or even mid-weight shafts, it may be worth ordering custom (assuming you’re not going to get fitted).

What can rust do for my wedge shots around the green?

Nothing.
Rust doesn’t add spin. One more time for the guys in the back…
RUST DOESN’T ADD SPIN.
It is true that raw wedges can sometimes spin more (especially if the manufacturer hasn’t accounted for the finish in the groove spec), but that’s because of a lack of finish, not because of the rust.
I’m not a fan of anything in between the clubface and the ball and that’s exactly what rust is.

How do I determine the best bounce and grind for my game?
First, some quick definitions.

Bounce is the angle formed between the leading edge and the lowest point on the sole.
The grind is the shape of the sole. It encompasses things like width and camber as well as any relieved areas.
When it comes to finding the right wedges, I recommend every golfer get professionally fitted outdoors. If that’s not in the cards (and it probably isn’t), it comes down to a combination of your swing and the type of shots you play on the golf course.
The rule of thumb is that steeper swingers (guys who often take deep divots) benefit from wider (high bounce) soles, while the shallow pickers of the world do well with narrower (lower bounce) soles.
Things get more complex when we start talking about options for opening the face around the green or gliding through fluffy bunkers, or picking a ball of a bare dirt lie because your home course doesn’t have 100% grass coverage around the green.
The bottom line is that the course seldom cares about how you swing, so I’m a proponent of carrying a mix of high and low bounce options with enough versatility across grinds that you can manage whatever lie the course gives you.

Full Face Wedges – What difference do they make?
The practical benefit comes on open-face shots around the green where the extra groove area allows you to maintain spin when you’re intentionally make contact somewhere other than the primary hitting area. It’s the reason why full-face grooves are ubiquitous on high toe wedges.

There’s also a marketing angle at play. Full-face wedges are still kinda different, arguably kinda cool – and that can be tempting.
That said, on your stock, square face shots, there’s no added value whatsoever. And, for the life of me, I can’t find any reason why you’d need full-face grooves on anything longer than a sand wedge.

Various wedges







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ESPN predictions for who will win the 2022 Players

The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass favors no one, which is why it is far from easy to predict a winner at The Players. Still, we tried.

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How to watch the PGA Tour's The Players on ESPN+

The largest purse and winner's share in PGA Tour history is on the line at The Players. Here's how you can watch the action on ESPN+.

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PGA best bets for the Players Championship

Collin Morikawa is one of several top players looking to add to their resumes against one of the toughest fields in golf. Our analysts offer their best picks for the tourney.

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Marion! Tiger! Trying To Get Excited About The WGHOF Ceremony...

My inspiration comes from the golfers themselves, who in spite of kicking and cursing, find that a trip around a Pete Dye golf course is always memorable. Golf has given me a life that is rich in experience, personal achievement and friendship, but I find the greatest satisfaction in believing that I have somehow contributed to making the game I love a more exciting one to play.  PETE DYE

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Monahan: "Let's move on."

Jay Monahan sat down for a solid exchange of many questions and gave pretty frank answers as the 2022 Players week begins. It’s fascinating to ponder what might have happened had he taken the tough tone toward disruptors sooner. Now that things have unraveled thanks to Phil Mickelson and other players committing to the PGA Tour, Monahan made clear the PGA Tour is moving on.

Before I make some additional comments on THE PLAYERS Championship, I wanted to take a moment to address all of the news, discourse and conjecture lately about the world of professional golf. 

I'd like to emphatically reiterate what I told our players at our mandatory player meeting two weeks ago at the Honda Classic. 

The PGA TOUR is moving on. We have too much momentum and too much to accomplish to be consistently distracted by rumors of other golf leagues and their attempts to disrupt our players, our partners, and most importantly our fans from enjoying the TOUR and the game we all love so much. 

I am grateful for the strong support our top players have shown recently and publicly, and I'm extremely proud that we've turned the conversation around to focus on what we do best: Delivering world-class golf tournaments with the best players to the best fans, all while positively impacting the communities in which we play. We are and we always will be focused on legacy, not leverage. 

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The New SEVEN MCB

Here is the new SEVEN MCB Full Milled Iron!  This is SEVEN Golf’s largest and most forgiving design in their lineup.  For those not aware of the boutique brand in short they produce the world’s only fully CNC milled irons on the retail market today while all their products are 100% sourced materials and manufactured in Japan.

Only 6 sets are made each month (maximum) and a few months a year no sets are produced.  As of now, there is a 6-8+ month waitlist on many of their models,  this is not a covid or supply chain issue but rather the nature of the beast when each iron head takes 14-17 hours to mill.

This is the first iron by SEVEN to move into a second version,  the brand does not have to re-design their irons because they are nearly impossible to improve. To explain that thought, when it comes to single-piece forged head construction, the shape and weight are the most important two factors.  Weight placement is especially vital because it determines where the center of gravity height and depth are located and that has a huge impact on how the iron performs. In this case, almost all the dimensions remain from the original MCB with the addition of a few key adjustments that allow the forgiveness to increase noticeably while the accuracy features a slight improvement,  these two aspects usually do not complement each other but SEVEN has been able to deliver.

DMG Mori Seiki 5-Axis – machines to mill these irons which is one of the finest Japanese milling equipment manufacturers known worldwide to make the best equipment.

NX CAD – The design program is made using Siemens NX CAD software which is the benchmark for compies like Toyota, Mercedes, Porsche, Ford, and even LEGO.




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Ratings: 2022 Arnold Palmer Down, Honda And Genesis Hit 25-Year Lows

High course and slope ratings and a high Stimpmeter reading for greens have become ridiculous status symbols. ALICE DYE

/ Geoff Shackelford

Showbuzzdaily.com has all the numbers which are not very encouraging.

The 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational featuring Scottie Scheffler’s second tour win scored a Nielsen 1.70 rating with 2.825 million viewers, down a million average viewers from 2021’s 2.36/3.862 million.

Saturday’s third round went from a 1.55/2.5 million viewers last year to a 1.21/1.95 million in 2022.

The 2021 numbers:




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PGA Tour commish wants to talk to Mickelson

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said that he will have a discussion with Phil Mickelson at some point after the golfer's inflammatory remarks.

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Tiger's teen daughter to introduce him at Hall

Tiger Woods' daughter, Sam, will introduce him at the Hall of Fame ceremony.

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WGHOF Ceremony Details: Judy Rankin, Davis Love, Sam Woods Serving As Presenters

Wednesday’s induction ceremony is set for Jacksonville International’s Terminal A, aka the Global Home, with a one surprise presenter (Sam Woods for Tiger Woods) and one total non-surprise (Davis Love for Tim Finchem).

The key details, including a new “trophy” for the World Golf Hall of Fame inductees made by Tiffany & Co. The ceremony will be carried live on Golf Channel at 7 pm ET:

World Golf Hall of Fame Announces Presenters for 2022 Inductee Class:

2022 Inductee, Susie Maxwell Berning (Judy Rankin)

2022 Inductee, Tim Finchem (Davis Love III)

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We Tried It: The Lag Shot Driver Swing Trainer

There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.

What We Tried

Lag Shot Driver Swing Trainer

Who Tried It?

Dave Wolfe – MyGolfSpy writer and putter fanatic. I am always looking for ways to improve my game and fight off the impact of aging.

If The Lag Shot Iron Worked, How About The Lag Shot Driver?

The Lag Shot iron swing trainer was one of the pleasant surprises of 2021. Indisputably, 2021 was full of surprises but not many of them were pleasant. I didn’t really know what to expect from the Lag Shot iron. As it turned out, the trainer with the bright blue shaft not only helped me improve swing tempo with my irons but also became something I continue to use.



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The Rory roller coaster, finding a sleeper, where's Phil and more big topics for The Players

The Players is never boring. This year is no different, from questions about Rory McIlroy's game, Phil Mickelson's absence and more.

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Golf Channel Feature Suggests Golf's History Of On Course Gambling Makes PGA Tour's Sports Betting Push A Natural Fit

The same day the NFL suspended Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley over a $1500 bet and costing him his $11 million salary, it was hard not to think of Ridley’s situation when Golf Channel aired a perplexing feature (below) about sports betting during Monday’s Live From The Players. In just over five minutes, the piece served up a combo platter attempting to use golf’s long history of players wagering on the course as a legitimizing force for the fan gambling push. With plenty of the usual grow-the-game, it’s-what-the-kids-want gibberish.

(After the feature the PGA Tour’s Norb Gambuzza revealed in an on set discussion that the 501(c)(6) non-profit is hoping to up its share of the U.S. sports betting market from 1.5% to 4-5% in the next few years. So much for the slow, careful buildout.)

Also making the piece pretty weird: ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt was the primary voice for a pro-gambling message.

The feature’s message suggests it'’s cool for players to bet in a practice round or at home when playing golf, yet there will be consequences if they bet on PGA Tour action under their integrity statutes. However, since the PGA Tour does not announce fines and suspensions, we probably won’t know if a player ever does such a thing or is punished in the same manner as Calvin Ridley.

Regarding disclosure, Gambuzza was asked by Rich Lerner in the post-feature discussion if player injury reports will be optional. It’s a good question given that other sports provide various ways for gamblers to have some sense who might be at less than 100% or even doubtful for a game. Golf is going to leave such information up to the players.

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"Ryan Brehm hits Tour's ultimate home run in Puerto Rico"

With all of the weirdness at this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, you might have missed Ryan Brehm’s must-win win in Puerto Rico. Playing in the last event of a medical exemption, Brehm could have finished second and kept a PGA Tour card for the 126-150 category.

Instead he won, vaulting Brehm into this week’s Players. But it’s his story that’s the kind Netflix should be including in a documentary. Thankfully, Brentley Romine did a superb job here capturing all of Brehm’s story that includes a 91 m.p.h. fastball and his wife serving as his caddie.

“It sounded like I had a bunch of pressure, but there really wasn’t,” Brehm said. “This was an opportunity for me to swing for the fences and see if we could win.”

Touch ‘em all.

With his wife, Chelsey, on the bag, Brehm cruised to a six-shot win Sunday at the Puerto Rico Open to not only retain his card but lock it up for two more years.

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Music Video: Harrop's Latest Takes On @useGolfFACTS

Oh I’ve often thought about just riding off into the sunset. But my thinking has always been that if I stop being active I wouldn’t last very long. I think that would be the end of me. I can honestly say that my work ethic has been one key to living a long and happy life. ARNOLD PALMER

/ Geoff Shackelford

For those not aware of golf Twitter’s underworld and the bizarre burner account @useGolfFACTS offers a range of conspiratorial takes generally defending Patrick Reed.

The account has inspired singer, songwriter and satirist Sam Harrop’s latest single. If you aren’t aware of @useGolfFACTS won’t make a bit of sense but that should not stop you from watching. Or doing a little Google work to discover the belief that yes, the Hero World Challenge sand rearranging video has been doctored. Really.


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Sun Mountain Sports: SOLD!

Sun Mountain Sports: SOLD! – Key Takeaways

Sun Mountain Sports sold to Solace Capital PartnersTerms undisclosedSun Mountain management team to stay in place

Sun Mountain Sports has new ownership. Solace Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm, announced today that it has purchased Sun Mountain—lock, stock and pushcart—from Rick Reimers, the company’s founder, director and sole shareholder.

According to Solace, Sun Mountain will remain headquartered in Missoula, Mont. And it appears the existing management team will remain in place. In addition, Reimers will retain control of Sun Mountain Motor Sports, makers of the Finn golf scooter.

“I’m proud of the patents we have earned, the innovations we have ushered in and the lifelong friends I have made along the way,” said Reimers in a statement. “Solace brings a shared sense of values and deep appreciation of the brand and I am confident … the company’s best days are ahead.”

“Under Rick’s ownership, (Sun Mountain) has built a stellar reputation for excellence,” said Solace Managing Partner Brett Wyard. “We see attractive opportunities to grow the business and bring its wide range of products to as many golfers as possible.”

Sun Mountain Sports: History

Reimers, a former golf pro from California, has a long history as an innovator. He first dabbled in lightweight nylon golf bags in the late 1970s and established Sun Mountain in 1981 in San Jose, Calif. Three years later, he moved operations to Missoula and introduced unique lightweight golf bags such as the Front 9, his first big seller. In 1986, Sun Mountain released the Eclipse, which the company says was the first modern, lightweight stand bag.

Sun Mountain golf sold
Sun Mountain golf sold





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PGA Tour Power Rankings: Talent is not being wasted on the young

Scottie Scheffler is 25 and has won twice in his past three starts. Viktor Hovland is 24 and has four top-5 finishes in his past six starts. The PGA Tour is not hurting for young talent.

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