The look on the players' faces as they walked off the Ocean Course told the story: This PGA Championship won't be easy. And if you take even a second off, trouble is coming.
Golfing News & Blog Articles
Catlin receives rare slow-play sanction at PGA
John Catlin's 1-stroke penalty for slow play at the PGA Championship was the first issued at a major championship since the 2013 Open Championship.
Burns (back) withdraws from PGA Championship
Sam Burns, who has enjoyed great success the past two weeks, withdrew from the PGA Championship on Thursday with a back injury.
Slump buster? Fowler motivated by playing MJ
Rickie Fowler says his recent matches against Michael Jordan have helped to push him through his prolonged slump.
PGA Championship golfers broke out some impressive fits
Fashion was the byword of the day at the 2021 PGA Championship's first round.
BEST LASER RANGEFINDER 2021
2021 Best Laser Rangefinder Buyer’s Guide
Are you a laser rangefinder aficionado or a GPS golfer? If you’re the former, this is your lucky day.
Whether you’re looking to buy a new laser rangefinder today, seeking buying advice or just want a closer look at what’s on the market, this guide will help you find the right laser rangefinder to fit your needs
Each year, there is more technology packed into each unit. For example, Bushnell and Precision Pro have units that take into account temperature, altitude and wind to provide you an actual “play-like” yardage that others don’t.
Some can provide GPS measurement readouts on the unit itself for quick feedback. Also, some OEMs have an application that provides more information about the specific hole you’re on.
What’s most impressive about this year’s group of laser rangefinders is that accuracy has improved dramatically across the field. Nearly every rangefinder in the test is accurate within five yards.
Putt like a Pro and Make More Dough
It’s amazing to see how many putts the professionals sink. If you practice their techniques, you can putt with the same amazing precision and win more dough on the course. Pros work on (1) reading the break, (2) feeling the distance and (3) learning how to hit a straight putt up their target line. This blog is a summary of Andrew Tursky’s recent article covering the techniques used by Aaron Baddeley, one of the PGA Tour’s best putters of the last 20 years. [In 2004 Baddeley finished in the top-10 in the putting category ten times and he led the tour in 2015 which is nearly unmatched.]
“Poor putting tends to wear down the psyche of a golfer more than any other part of the game.” Aaron’s putting strategies and practice tips may be your gateway to success:
1) Just putt it: Baddeley’s approach is to allow his inner athlete take over, rather than doubts or concerns. “I just putt…I just try and hole it,” Baddeley says. “It sounds funny, but it’s like throwing a ball to first base.” He sees downhill putts gently falling over the front lip of the cup and on uphill putts he sees the ball going into the back of the cup. From there, he simply reacts to the speed he has in his mind.
Speed Drill 1: Find a putt with a good amount of break on your practice green, and place three balls down about 4-5 feet from the cup. Hit each putt with different speed; one fast, one slow, and one medium. Each putt will break differently, and over time, you’ll get comfortable controlling the speed needed for all 3 balls to tumble into the hole.
Speed Drill 2: The tee drill. Surround a practice hole with tees at around 5-6 feet, and go around the circle from tee-to-tee hitting putts at the cup. This helps simulate the different breaks of putts you’ll see on the course.
2) Setup the same way every time: The swing needs to be is exactly the same to hit the center of the face to create straight putts. Only the swing distance changes to compensate for distance. To ensure he sets up the same distance from the ball on every stroke, Baddeley uses his putter head to measure the distance from the golf ball to his feet. His sweet spot is 3.5 putter head lengths. At that distance, Baddeley has his eyes over the ball in the proper spot where he can make a free-flowing stroke. Measure your gap and check it (while your play) if your putts stop sinking.
3) “Measure” your aim: Baddeley says the most important part of putting is aiming the face properly at your starting line. Reading the putt correctly is only half the battle. Butch Harmon taught Baddeley to putt off the end of a ruler to get his putter face square. Setup a ruler about 10 feet from a hole and pointed directly at the hole on a dead straight putt. When you setup to the ball, check to see if the ruler looks like it is pointing left or right of your target? Hit putts to see what “square” really feels like.
Improve your putting by practicing to feel the break and to set up exactly the same way with a square putter face to hit up your target line. The GOLFSTR+ Training Aid is a great way to practice putting with your locked leading wrist and to build your confidence for your successful putting. By one today at www.GOLFSTR.com
PGA Tour easing mask rules for vaccinated players
Starting next week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, the PGA Tour will no longer require fully vaccinated players to wear masks indoors.
Stricker wants Tiger as U.S. Ryder Cup assistant
Steve Stricker said Tiger Woods has "got some ways to go" in recovering from injuries related to his car crash in February, but the U.S. Ryder Cup captain would like Woods to serve as an assistant on the team in September.
McIlroy fave at PGA, but books wary of Spieth
Rory McIlroy is the consensus favorite at sportsbooks around the nation to win this week's PGA Championship.
COBRA KING 3D Printed and KING Vintage Putter Lines
New COBRA KING 3D Putter line features high-MOI designs facilitated by new nylon 3D-printing technologies.New COBRA KING Vintage putters are COBRA’s interpretations of classic putter head shapes.All putters will be available for pre-order today and will ship June 4.
COBRA is launching not one but two new putter lines. If memory serves, other than its less-than-well-known box set offerings, this is the first time we’ve seen COBRA putters since Bobby Grace’s name was on them. It’s been a minute.
So what took so long?
COBRA has long maintained that it wasn’t going to make a putter just to say it did. The timing had to be right and given COBRA’s culture of innovation, category-advancing technology had to be part of the equation as well.
The proper timing comes courtesy of the COVID boom where, in 2020 alone, an estimated 998,000 putters were sold to the tune of $200 milllion in the U.S.A. alone. Globally, golf has exploded. There’s never been a more receptive market.
The category-advancing technology comes by way of 3D printing and a Sik face insert. With last year’s limited release of the Supersport 3D-printed putter, COBRA gave us a peek at what they were working on. With the Supersport 3D, the entire putter was 3D printed. The retail KING 3D putter series is taking a different approach.
Ball Lab: Bridgestone e12 Contact Review
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. Today, we’re taking a look at the 2021 Bridgestone e12 Contact.
About the Bridgestone e12 Contact
The Bridgestone e12 Contact replaces both the prior-gen e12 Soft and e12 Speed. The e12 Contact is instantly recognizable by its Contact Force Dimple pattern which puts 38 percent more surface area in contact with the clubface. Bridgestone says that helps create better energy transfer (more speed), straighter flight and more spin around the green. On paper, it check all of the boxes.
The e12 Contact is a three-piece ionomer cover ball with 326 dimples. Given its low compression, we can reasonably expect high launch and low spin on full shots.
All of our samples were manufactured at Bridgestone’s U.S.A. ball plant.
Bridgestone e12 Contact—Compression
On our gauge, the Bridgestone e12 Contact has an average compression of 61. That’s about eight points softer than the prior generation e12 Soft. Though not as soft as the 2019 e6, the e12 Contact is still among the softest balls we’ve tested to date.
Collin Morikawa's run to a PGA Championship started at $80 an hour
The defending champion has had the same coach since age 8, when he first showed up and paid the going rate. Collin Morikawa's team, despite all his success, has changed very little.
Who has a shot and who has no chance to win the PGA Championship
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island is difficult -- and could get even more difficult if the wind blows. So who has what it takes? Who could stun everyone? Who should just be happy to be on property?
ESPN predictions on who'll win the 2021 PGA Championship
Our experts weighed in with a range of choices, from those looking to end droughts to those trying to grab that elusive first major title.
Best bets for the PGA Championship
Perhaps the best field of the year will tee it up this week for golf's second major. Here are our best bets for the event.
'Ready to have a party' at postponed Ryder Cup
PGA CEO Seth Waugh said Tuesday that he expects a "full fan experience" when the Ryder Cup, postponed a year, is played Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits near Kohler, Wisconsin.
Tee times for the first and second rounds of the 2021 PGA Championship
Here are the tee times for the first and second round of the 2021 PGA Championship.
Koepka: Playing with pain but months from 100%
Brooks Koepka, who is playing at the PGA Championship this week, said that he can deal with the pain as he recovers from a right knee injury but that doctors have said he's still six months away from a full recovery.
Title trio: Last 3 major champs grouped for PGA
Collin Morikawa will begin his PGA Championship title defense by teeing off with reigning Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama and U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau in one of eight featured groups at Kiawah Island.