Tiger Woods is not at this Masters, but well-connected people, in small numbers, have passed through the gates. This particular April in Georgia comes with hope and a reminder about what was and what is to come.

Several PGA Tour golfers weighed in on the recent controversy over the new Georgia law that some feel restricts voting access.

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

The French Open, scheduled for May 6-9, has been postponed because of COVID-19 restrictions, the European Tour announced.

It's time to head back to Augusta, with The Masters returning to its traditional spot as the first major of the year. Here are our best bets for the event.

It’s time for the first major of the season. The azaleas are in bloom this time around with a return to the traditional tournament week. To help you prepare, here’s a guide to this season’s Masters-inspired gear, details on how to watch the tournament, and where you can find fantasy options to further engage.

Masters Inspired Gear

While only official Masters merchandise can carry the tournament name, there is tons of golf gear and apparel out there clearly inspired by the major. For clubs, two special edition putters are soon to be released.

The first is TaylorMade’s special-edition Itsy Bitsy Spider putter to commemorate Dustin Johnson’s 2020 Masters victory. This Masters spider will be built to DJ’s play specs and feature custom aesthetics reflecting his first win at Augusta National. Read more about this putter here.

The second is Bettinardi’s Spring Classic BB14 limited run putter which has the unique Masters-inspired aesthetics and a head that is not available as a retail offering. Check out this post for the full specs and information.

In honor of the first major of the season, Cobra has released the KING RADSPEED XB Driver – Season Opener.

The Callaway REVA golf ball is a women’s version of the Supersoft Max.It’s available in pink and white sparkle.Retail price is $22.99 a dozen.

What do women want?

At the risk of mansplaining, let me tell you what I know about it.

Nothing.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

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

The Forme Core Tee, a therapeutic shirt.

What is Forme?

Forme is the brainchild of Dr. Stephen Liu, orthopedic surgeon and sympathetic son. When his mother was undergoing treatment for cancer, Dr. Liu often helped her breathe by pulling her shoulders back, thus opening up her lungs.

Eventually, Dr. Liu created a team of intellectuals, doctors, scientists and technology pioneers to employ the same strategy for others. With athletes in mind, Forme created the Core tee and sports bra, a wearable therapeutic designed to correct and train alignment of the spine/neck/shoulder/hip and increase joint movement, reduce injuries, boost recovery and provide better breathing for higher oxygenation.

Why Are We Trying It?

Simple. After successful results with U.S. Olympic teams, MLB and NHL athletes and both the men’s and women’s U.S. national rugby teams, Forme is beginning to infiltrate professional golf. Jared Wolfe, Rohan Ramnatho and Harold Varner have been using Forme.

Our panel was all over the place, from a Dustin Johnson repeat to a Justin Thomas roll to Jon Rahm taking family photos with a green jacket to a few out-of-nowhere choices.

There are the contenders, those players hoping to take home the green jacket. There are those who will have accomplished something just by making the cut. And there are those who are just here for a fun few days. We decide who is who.

You have to have won the Masters to get into the Champions Dinner. So Austin Johnson isn't invited. But he's got to eat. And he planned out his menu, just like his brother.

A dry month in Georgia that saw cold, windy conditions over the weekend yield to sunny, warm ones means Augusta National is setting up to be a sterner test than players are used to seeing for the Masters this week.

Jordan Spieth currently is listed at 10-1 at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill to capture a second green jacket at the Masters. Those odds are a far cry from 60-1 offered as recently as early February.

Here are the full tee times for the opening two rounds of the 85th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.

Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods is "bummed he's not here playing practice rounds with us," good friend Justin Thomas said Tuesday. Woods is home in Florida, recovering from injuries suffered in a car wreck on Feb. 23.

Dustin Johnson will begin his defense of the Masters title Thursday at 10:30 a.m., while contenders Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau will have to wait until the afternoon to tee off.

Bryson DeChambeau said Tuesday that there is something in his bag this week at the Masters that is "very helpful" but would not go into specifics.

April Fools! Or at least it was when we discussed our Iron Headcover Buyer’s Guide. What were YOUR favorite pranks this year?

1:06 – Our favorite pranks from years past and current.7:22 – Reader reactions to our Iron Headcover Buyer’s Guide13:40 – Brief brand intro: Edel Golf16:18 – Will the 2021 Edel SMS change the game for wedges?28:21 – The importance of bounce (and wedge fitting in general)31:25 – BAG UPDATE: Tony reports a new club addition36:12 – Place your bets: our Masters predictions

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The new Ben Hogan Edge EX irons are something of a unicorn in the game improvement arena.

There’s a growing trend in the GI category of calling an iron “forged” when, in fact, only the body is forged. The face, which actually hits the ball, is high-strength HT1770 steel or something similar. There’s a reason for that (which we’ll discuss later) but semantics are semantics. The new Hogan Edge EX, however, is bass-ackwards. The face and hosel is a single 1025 forging while the frame is investment-cast.

Whether that makes any difference to you is a good question.

Whether that, plus a price tag 40 percent lower than comparable sorta-forged game improvement irons, makes any difference to you is an even better one.

Ben Hogan Edge EX Irons – Facts and Figures

For any hardcore Hoganista, the new Edge EX branding, open cavity and iconic sunburst logo will make you want to party like it’s 1999.  Or maybe 2003. Either way, it brings back memories of Hogan’s Spalding era.

I started playing golf when I was 11. I’ve played the beautiful game ever since. But long before I was a golfer, I was a sneakerhead. I remember getting the Nike Air Trainer SC High’s when I was much younger. They were a bribe for going to a home decoration exhibition with my parents without causing a fuss. I currently own over 150 pairs of sneakers (or trainers as we say in good old Blighty).  Animal print. Fluorescent. Air bubbles. Boost. Swooshes. Stripes. You name it, I’ll have a pair in the collection. It’s like the new Limited Edition adidas Stan Smith Golf shoes were made just for me. 

MyGolfSpy recently tested the best spiked and best spikeless golf shoes on the market. These are not those. They aren’t meant to be. Some golfers aren’t looking for performance or the ultimate in traction. Stability is something other golfers need. They just want to look fly on the course. These are the golf shoes they’ll want to flex in this summer. 

An Icon

In the pantheon of all-time great sneakers, the adidas Stan Smith is right up there. Over 70 million pairs of Stan Smith’s have been sold. It’s one of their biggest ever success stories. Kanye West might be the adidas figure head, but it’s fair to say Stan Smith is as important to adidas as Michael Jordan has been to Nike.

The first leather tennis shoe from the iconic three stripes, they first launched in 1965 as the Haillet, named after French player of the era Robert Haillet, only becoming the Stan Smith in 1978 after adidas had identified they needed an American name to grow their appeal.

Stan Smith won two Grand Slams and is a former world Number #1. But his shoes have had a far more significant impact on history than he has. His book is even called Stan Smith: Some People Think I’m a Shoe! It would have been like Andy North becoming the face of the Callaway Big Bertha. the partnership worked though and his moustachioed face can be seen on nearly every pair of adidas Stan Smith’s to this day. The greatest marketing masterstroke though was ending production of the shoe in 2011. By the time they were brought back in 2014 anticipation was at a fever pitch, and they went on to become the biggest selling sneaker of the decade.