Golfing News & Blog Articles

Sergio Garcia has withdrawn from the Masters after testing positive for COVID-19.

With a 4-foot birdie putt on the ninth playoff hole, Kevin Sutherland beat Paul Broadhurst on Monday to win the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

The post Stitch Golf’s Birdie Bag – A 3 in 1 Game Changer appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

Distribution of Driver Distance – Key Takeaways

Driving distance drops by 47 yards when comparing the youngest golfer to the oldestFrom 2018 – 2019 driving average hasn’t changedIs driving distance really an issue?

Improved Performance Through Data

Big data is a powerful tool. Not only does it allow golfers to assess individual parts of the game but it provides an opportunity to examine performance from a variety of perspectives.

Golf stat tracking and performance management companies like Shot Scope help golfers better understand their on-course performance. However, by aggregating data from golfers around the world, we get a more complete picture of the realities of amateur performance.

So, as we dive into a relatively straightforward topic, think about how far you hit the ball. Has your distance improved with age? Do you think handicap affects distance?

Distribution Of Driving Distances

Observations

The majority of golfers average between 200 and 224 yards off the tee.Only 4% of golfers drive the ball over 300 yards.The second highest percentage of golfers drive the ball between 225 and 249 on average.

The majority of golfers drive the ball 200 – 224 yards on average with only 4% of golfers hitting it over 300 yards. It begs the question that rolling the ball back should only be targeted to the PGA Tour and not the amateur game?

Driver Performance Average By Handicap

Observations

Across all handicaps, the driving distance has remained stagnant on average.Golfers with handicaps from 10 – 17 have gained 1.2 yards on average from 2018 – 2019The 18 – 28 handicaps lost 0.8 yards off the tee from 2018 – 2019

Golfers only lost 0.1 of a yard from 2018 – 2019 and, let’s face it, that’s no change at all. You have to remember that we don’t know what driver these golfers are using, what model, loft and so on. These variables are something to consider as you wont see that much of a difference in distance in drivers that are 1-5 years old. However, if the golfer plays a wooden driver or a driver thats 10-15 years old you will see an increase in distance with a newer model driver.

Are you tired of putting everything you have into your game, only to see the ball literally limp off the club face after each swing? There’s just no return on the energy you’re putting in. Today I’m going to show you how to get the sizzle back into your ball striking. Watch this video first…

I often ask my students which club imparts the most energy into the ball relative to club speed. The answer? Putter. Why? It has the least loft at impact and delivers the least oblique strike to the ball. Learn to reduce the loft coming into impact in order to start compressing the ball off the club face.

Get the club face in place early in the downswing. This is done by bowing/flexing the lead wrist which in turn will de-loft and strengthen the club face by the time impact occurs.

Try the Preset Club Face Drill. Using a 7 iron, take the club back so that the shaft is parallel to the ground making sure the lead wrist and leading edge are tilted down towards the ground slightly. Wind the arms back 1 foot and rotate through, working to maintain the face and wrist angles. The ball flight should be low and penetrating with a slight draw.

Make sure that the low point of the swing arc is forward of where impact occurs. This can be rehearsed by making two practice swings between each shot you hit on the range where the sole of the club bottoms out well in front of where it was resting on the ground. The handle and weight must be forward at impact in order for this to occur.

Everyone knows Bryson DeChambeau bulked up and now hits far - very far. What we don't know is how this will translate at Augusta National. Is Bryson DeChambeau about to tear the Masters apart?

It's been 19 months since Tiger won the Masters. But most people remember everything from that week. Still, there are some things you don't know about his victory.

True words and yet the lack of patronage at this week’s Masters will be impossible to ignore. Nonetheless, a nice head on approach here from The Masters team to set the table:

View this post on Instagram

The Masters plays on. #themasters

A post shared by The Masters (@themasters) on Nov 8, 2020 at 1:01pm PST

The Bryson DeChambeau show arrived in Augusta for the November Masters and he’s got the 201 mph ball speed ready to go:

US Open Champion Bryson DeChambeau on the range at Augusta National #TheMasters

📽️: @kharms27 via Instagram pic.twitter.com/qrBKH4OnUD

— Foresight Sports (@ForesightSports) November 9, 2020

On top of that, DeChambeau’s recent round at the course included some eye-opening approach yardages:

During a recent round at Augusta National with Sandy Lyle, Bryson had some eye-popping club selections into holes, including:

#1: Sand wedge
#2: 8-iron
#8: 7-iron
#10: Pitching wedge
#11: 9-iron
#13: 7-iron (hit 3-wood off tee)
#15: 9-ironhttps://t.co/lC8P1Wa1hN https://t.co/nYTmgveKbS

— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) November 8, 2020

Of course this is all how it should be. The best player in the world right now is arriving at Augusta National with a game and distances like we’ve never seen. The opportunity to dismantle the place and render the course obsolete is real. That is easily the top storyline and one most of us who’ve seen the distance complacence by multiple governing bodies come to this fruition (including during Masters Chairman Fred Ridley’s USGA days).

The final round of the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship will be played on Monday after Kevin Sutherland and Paul Broadhurst traded pars through six playoff holes in near darkness.

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre clinched his maiden European Tour title at the Cyprus Showdown on Sunday, finishing one shot clear of Japan's Masahiro Kawamura.

Carlos Ortiz closed with a 5-under 65 to win the Houston Open on Sunday, becoming the first Mexican to win on the PGA Tour in 42 years.

A diverse set of playing styles highlighted the huge success of Memorial Park’s renovation and Carlos Ortiz punctuated his win in 18th hole-birdie style before dam of emotions burst.

There's nothing like your first. 😊

Soak it in, @CarlosOrtizGolf. pic.twitter.com/S7j4ZBuwIF

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 8, 2020

He is the first Mexican to win a PGA Tour event in 42 years. The finale and strong showing by Memorial made for great viewing and was unquestionably better with fan support.

(And no, Ortiz was not in the 2020 Masters field so he will not be headed to Augusta. That’s how things roll this strange year.)

About the “2000” fans a day.

There were so many pivotal moments: Tiger's run-in with a security guard, a loaded leaderboard collapsing at No. 12 and hugs behind the 18th green. We remember them all.

The world's biggest names -- Bill Murray and Michael Phelps, Condoleezza Rice and Peyton and Eli and so many more -- remember where they were and what they thought as it happened. We asked them all.

Bloomberg’s Patrick Clark looks at the impact of a postponed Masters on Augusta, Georgia’s rental market and finds that multiple hotels are behind on loan payments. Including, sadly, the legendary Partridge Inn.

From Clark’s story:

That’s bad news for properties like the Partridge Inn, a historic 143-room hotel that’s 60 days delinquent on its $15 million mortgage, according to an Oct. 19 report compiled by Wells Fargo & Co.

A representative for the owner -- listed in property records as Partridge Inn DE LLC -- declined to comment.

At least two more Augusta hotels are delinquent on loans that have been packaged into commercial mortgage-backed securities, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Several others are on servicer watch lists.

ESPN.com’s Bob Harig talks to Rory McIlroy in advance of next week’s rescheduled Masters where an already wet course is expected to see more rain.

Besides the softness, I was intrigued by the role McIlroy sees Bermuda playing versus an April playing of the Masters.

"A lot more Bermuda [grass] in the fairways and in the surrounds of the greens,'' McIlroy said. "The greens are exactly the same as they always are. But for the fairways, it just hasn't been cold enough for the Bermuda to die off. That's going to make things very interesting around the greens. Chipping will be a lot trickier.

"[The fairways], instead of being thin it can be a little grainy or a thicker patch. But it was soft. There were a lot of mud balls and looks like some rain during the week so that can be an issue. It's just going to play very different. They haven't done anything to the golf course -- it's just the way it's playing.''

The current forecast calls for rain possibilities Tuesday to Sunday, with the remnants of Eta also a possibility next weekend.

5600 of us owners enjoyed a Breeders Cup Classic win today and I thought of buying a $49 “Authentic” hat to commemorate. But that’s a lot for a cap. Unless, you’re Phil Mickelson and Melin.

For $69 ($82 and change after shipping/taxes), this Melin cap armed with Mickelson’s logo is now available and will help your game. After all, it repels water and helps for those morning workouts when you don’t want to take a shower, according to the hall-of-famer. Operators should be standing by to take your order for just three easy payments of $32.99!

Warning! Here’s the launch video with several gratuitous calf shots.

My favorite @MelinBrand hat can now be your favorite hat too. Check out this link to get yours before they run out! https://t.co/PUBEBBOiVG pic.twitter.com/7ZyVhXwXFO

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) November 7, 2020

The rescheduled Masters lost its first player to a COVID-19 and a particularly painful WD by Joaquin Niemann given his current form.

The 2018 Latin America Amateur champion announced the news on Twitter (below) and ESPN.com’s Bob Harig shares the statement in English:

"I have tested positive for coronavirus and unfortunately I will not play in the Masters next week as a result,'' Niemann wrote. "This event means a lot to me, and I have had incredible memories playing as the LAAC champion. I am disappointed but will do everything possible to recover quickly while keeping my family and team safe."

As you might expect from Augusta National, the announcement was handled differently than the PGA Tour, which has disclosed COVID-positives/WD’s with a statement.

The Lords, at least in this case, left the announcement up to the player to announce:

Desafortunadamente testee positivo para coronavirus y no podré jugar @themasters la semana que viene. Este torneo significa mucho para mi, tengo muy buenas memorias de cuando lo jugué como campeón del LAAC y ... pic.twitter.com/QVJobIbcIx

— joaconiemann (@joaconiemann) November 6, 2020

Kevin Sutherland shot a 7-under 64 on a windy Saturday afternoon in the desert to take a five-stroke lead into the final round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.