Golfing News & Blog Articles

Charlotte Thomas will begin a 14-day quarantine after she was in close contact with her caddie, who has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Golf is a strange game. Successful swings have evolved over the years. It really is surprising that we can almost recognize any golfer by their different profile and swing. They all have their quirks. Matthew Wolff and Bryson DeChambeau are 2 of the most quirky swingers but their risky swings are really turning out to be rewarding.

So what is this new quirky swing by Matthew Wolff doing? If you watched the US Open, you definitely saw that strange knee wiggle and looping swing by Mathew Wolff. He does a quick practice trailing knee bend to start his swing sequence. He’s actually feeling his impact position so that he can feel it before he swings. He knows where he wants to end up at the point of impact.

Matt also uses a wide takeaway (like Jim Furyk) with a loop at the top to swing from the inside to straight up the target line. His swing is risky because he doesn’t hit a high percentage of fairways but he certainly uses this power and swing motion to hit a lot of greens in regulation. Especially out of the rough.

Matt Wolff adds a knee wiggle, a foot lift waggle and a huge loop at the top. The pros don’t recommend this as there are too many angles that can go wrong. Matt has a high percentage of fairway misses but he sure can get them out of the rough and on the Green in Regulation.

Bryson DeChambeau’s collection of irons that are all the same length; adding on muscle for more swing speed and his leading arm-lock for every club in his bag are all new innovations. He starts with a FLAT WRIST and keeps it throughout the swing. He is just cutting down on angles for a square club face impact.

Why not try out something quirky to improve YOUR Game
1/Swing to Putt Straight Up Your Target Line: Release your trailing hand at the point of impact and swing your leading hand Straight UP YOUR TARGET LINE. (This is my favorite.)
2/ Trailing Knee Bend Wiggle: Find your point of impact with your trailing knee before you start your swing. (Ala Matt Wolff)
3/ Setup with a Straight Leading Arm: Moe Norman and Bryson setup this way for extreem direction control.
4/ FLAT LEADING WRIST: Either setup with a flat leading wrist or waggle your driver to flatten your leading wrist before you start your backswing (keeping your leading wrist flat). That flat leading wrist will force your trailing elbow to bend into your side for an inside to out swing.

This week, the LPGA tees it up in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, for the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Here's what to watch as the women compete for the $4.3 million purse.

A few folks old enough might remember that majors and Tour events did not always put leaders together or out last, so the rescheduled Women’s PGA Championship plan should not be a big deal. Nonetheless it will be odd to see leaders sandwiched in certain tee time slots Sunday to accommodate TV, which has NASCAR to get to.

From Beth Ann Nichols’ Golfweek story quoting Kerry Haigh:

NBC will air the championship on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. ET and on Sunday from Noon to 2 p.m., ahead of NASCAR. To make that work, the leaders won’t be teeing off last on Sunday. And if play from Friday pushes to Saturday morning, the same will hold true for the third round as well.

“We feel it’s important that everyone watching the telecast will see the leaders,” said Haigh, “see the leaders play all 18 holes, and we think that is important. And although it’s a little different and out of the box, we as partners with the LPGA and KPMG are prepared to make those changes for what we think will be a greater and a better championship for everyone to observe.”

With even less daylight this November and a thrilling NFL match-up to get to, I wonder if the Lords of Augusta might consider something similar to help ensure proper morning golf course preparation? Or split tees? To be continued.

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 Costco’s Kirkland Signature Performance+.  An overview of the equipment we use can be found here. To learn more about our test process, how we define “bad” balls and our True Price metric, check out our About MyGolfSpy Ball Lab page.

Costco made a huge splash in the golf ball market in 2016 when it launched its Signature four-piece golf ball. Supply never quite matched demand. A subsequent four-piece offering was pulled due to significant quality issues.

Recently, the giant warehouser has expanded its reach deeper into the golf equipment world. Demand for Kirkland Signature putters and bargain-priced wedge sets is high. Throughout all of it, Costco’s urethane-covered three-piece Performance+ has been a mainstay on Costco store shelves.

In this report, we take a closer look at the Costco Kirkland Performance+ Three-Piece Golf ball and let you know how it stacks up against other golf balls on the market. Finally, we’ll give you the True Price – how much it costs to get a dozen “good” golf balls.

Derek Lawrenson explains how new LA resident—don’t get used to this blissful traffic Franky—Francesco Molinari is finally resurfacing this week.

The 2017 Open Champion is the last recent major winner to dust off the clubs and return during the COVID-19 era, teeing up at the Shriner’s over the European Tour’s BMW PGA. He hasn’t reached Anthony Kim levels of intrigue given the sheer absurdity of 2020, but it’s still remarkable how long Molinari has sat out. He has failed to register a top ten since the 2019 Masters.

Because they aren’t hitting it long enough and the air isn’t thin enough to make 400 yards an expected thing, new Titleist’s are turning up at their favorite testing grounds: TPC Summerlin.

Twenty years after the first Pro V’s showed up in Vegas and instantly turned most Titleist staffers into decathletes, it’s that time of year. Sources close to absolutely no one predict the new new Pro V1’s and Pro V1x’s will be longer and, wait for it, I swear, really, like, really straighter.

Golfweek’s David Dusek reviews and previews the Pro V’s history at the Shriner’s and what can be expected as the conforming ball is put into play.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the first Titleist Pro V1 at the 2000 Invensys Classic. That week, 47 players in the field switched into the new multi-layer, urethane-covered ball, including Billy Andrade, who went on to win.

Historically, Titleist brings prototypes of the three-piece Pro V1 and the four-piece Pro V1x balls to Las Vegas to get feedback from players, then makes the balls available to consumers in late January of the following year.

The company is not providing any details regarding modifications it has made to the balls at this time, but it is likely that the balls are receiving refinements instead of significant overhauls. Why? According to Titleist, about 73 percent of all the players on the PGA Tour last season used either a Pro V1 or a Pro V1x. That number jumps to 75 percent on the European Tour and 83 percent on the LPGA Tour.

Which means, when we take 12 dimples off it and make it a few millimeters larger, it’ll still be the most popular! Right Wally?

Given the continued onslaught of daily positive COVID-19’s reported in the United States, including a shocking White House outbreak, it’s a bit of a miracle that Tony Finau is the only PGA Tour player known to have tested positive since two cases at the U.S. Open. Before that, the Tour had enjoyed a six-week run of virus-free events.

Finau’s announced the bad news taking him out of this week’s Shriner’s Hospital Classic In Las Vegas:

Earlier today, I received a positive result for Covid-19 under PGA TOUR on-site testing protocols and have begun a period of self-quarantine to protect others around me. I am feeling well, and am otherwise in good spirits.

— Tony Finau Golf (@tonyfinaugolf) October 6, 2020

From Bob Harig’s ESPN.com story on Finau becoming one of the highest profile players to test positive.

Finau is just the 14th player to test positive for the coronavirus since the PGA Tour's return from a 13-week break at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in May. Two players tested positive at the U.S. Open, but prior to that, the tour was on a six-week run of no positive cases.

Tony Finau has withdrawn from this week's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open after testing positive for COVID-19.

In a MorningRead.com exclusive, Bradley Klein catches up with Eric Trump, overseer of Trump Golf properties, who says the “golf business has never been better” for the company and predicts their best year ever. Though it may not look that way on tax returns that reportedly show huge losses.

“The portfolio isn’t losing money,” said Trump, referring to the firm’s golf holdings. “You can make an operating profit, and that’s not the same as a tax loss based on depreciation, on legitimate write-offs on a schedule. That’s how real estate works.”

Klein focuses on the loss of tournaments from Trump branded properties, with only the 2022 PGA currently scheduled at Trump Bedminster. This, after Trump properties hosted 30 significant events across multiple tours from 2001 to 2017.

In typically upbeat tones, Eric Trump said he anticipates getting back to holding major events beyond the 2022 PGA, though he did not assign a time frame to the goal.

“When he gets out of politics,” Trump said of his father, “we’ll do a million tournaments.”

Charlotte Thomas will begin a 14-day quarantine after she was in close contact with her caddie, who has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Latin America Amateur Championship, which was scheduled to be played in January 2021 and carries an automatic invite to The Masters and The Open, among other events, has been canceled due to the pandemic.

Noteworthy and unfortunately for multiple reasons, including—I believe—as the first significant 2021 tournament cancelled due to the pandemic. (Here is a list of 2020 events cancelled courtesy of GolfDigest.com’s Ryan Herrington.)

The organization’s previously cancelled the Asia Pacific Amateur scheduled for this fall.

For Immediate Release:

2021 LATIN AMERICA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Future championship plans to be announced at a later date

LIMA, Peru – The 2021 Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) has been canceled due
to complications presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The LAAC, conducted by the USGA, The R&A and the Masters Tournament, was scheduled to
be played January 14-17, 2021, at Lima Golf Club in Lima, Peru. Future championship plans will
be announced at a later date.

Founded in 2014 by the Masters Tournament, The R&A and the USGA, the LAAC was established to further develop amateur golf in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. The event annually moves to top courses throughout Latin America and showcases the sport’s rising talent in the region.

Notable alumni of the championship include 2018 LAAC champion Joaquin Niemann of Chile,
Sebastian Munoz of Colombia and 2019 champion Alvaro Ortiz of Mexico.

Niemann competed on the 2019 Presidents Cup International team and became the first Chilean to win a PGA Tour event with his victory at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier in September 2019. After winning the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship in 2019, Munoz finished in a tie for eighth in the 2020 PGA Tour playoffs. Last year, Ortiz became the first player from Mexico to compete in the Masters since 1979, finishing as the Low Amateur Runner-Up.

The champion of the LAAC receives an invitation to compete in the Masters Tournament, The
Open, The Amateur Championship, the U.S. Amateur Championship and any other USGA
amateur championship for which he is eligible. The champion and runner(s)-up also receive an
exemption into final qualifying for the U.S. Open.

Charlotte Thomas will begin a 14-day quarantine after she was in close contact with her caddie, who has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Since we apparently can’t roll back athleticism or change equipment rules to maintain the relevancy of tournament courses, cockamamie ideas surface from time to time in the name of protecting imaginary bottom lines.

Though I have to say, in twenty years of hearing what efforts golf courses must go to not to act, this falls into the extra-kooky category. Not reptiles-in-the-rough-crazy, but close.

From Rex Hoggard, reporting on a Golf Central podcast conversation with Mike Schy, Bryson DeChambeau’s longtime swing-coach, when asked how you Bryson-proof a course.

“I’ve thought through this and I think I have the answer,” Schy explained on this week’s Golf Central Podcast. “I believe the rough should be scaled so that the closer you get to the green the thicker the rough becomes. Let’s say 60 yards out the rough is 7 inches deep and as you go back [toward the tee] the rough is scaled [shorter].

So, an inch lower every 20 yards? Do you paint a line at each stage, maybe go all grid-like?

Tour Edge Hot Launch 521 E and C Fairways and Hybrids – Key Takeaways

New Hot Launch companion fairway metals and hybrids for the new E and C series.E521 fairways and hybrids feature Houdini Sole for turf interaction plus a center of gravity that’s lower and farther backC521 options use Tour Edge Diamond Face tech for more ball speed.You’ll appreciate the pricing.

You know what it’s like when all that Amazon stuff you drunk-purchased one Saturday night shows up at the same time? Yeah, that’s what this week is like with Tour Edge. You’ve no doubt already read about the new Hot Launch 521 series drivers and irons. In this piece, we’re taking a deep dive into the Hot Launch 521 fairway woods and hybrids.

Tour Edge is carving out its own nice little sweet spot in the price-value matrix. The EXS Pro and EXS 220 lines give better players options outside of the Big Five. But if you’re a super game improvement golfer with a keen eye on your yards-per-dollar ratio, the Hot Launch line is an attention-getter. And today’s Hot Launch mega-launch is Tour Edge’s way of grabbing you by the shirt and saying look at me.

There’s an awful lot to sift through here, so you may want to grab another cup of coffee before jumping in.

Hot Launch 521 – Extreme Competition

Tour Edge is breaking up its value-priced super game improvement line into two distinct offerings. The Hot Launch E521 is Extreme Game Improvement while the Hot Launch C521 is Competition Spec Game Improvement. Think Super-Duper Game Improvement and regular old Super Game Improvement.

If you’ve been a Bazooka/Hot Launch HL player in the past, the E-series clubs are the logical next generation. The entire lineup screams easy. Tour Edge says the E series features super-low CGs, super-shallow faces, offset designs and lightweight shafts.

Tour Edge Hot Launch 521 E and C Series Irons – Key Takeaways

Tour Edge has released two new game-improvement irons – Hot Launch E521 and C521.The Hot Launch E521 irons are designed to offer extreme launch and forgiveness.The Hot Launch C521 irons are designed around competition specifications.Retail price for the E521 is $89.99 per club . C521 is $69.99 per club.

The Tour Edge 521 irons give golfers two choices in the ever-popular game-improvement segment of the market. Continuing the identity of its Hot Launch line, the defining characteristics are value and performance with just enough choice to satisfy the target clientele.

In that vein, Tour Edge believes not all game-improvement golfers are cut from the same cloth. Slower swing-speed players who need every last drop of technology to help increase launch to access more distance will be best served by the E Series extreme-spec E521 Iron-Wood model.

Conversely, the Tour Edge C-series C521 provides medium (or thereabouts) swing-speed players a more “traditional” looking iron. Tour Edge describes the C521 as classically shaped though it’s fair to suggest that self-appointed adjectives are subjective and relative to the product category. To be clear, the so-called conventional geometry of the Tour Edge C521 is a bit like describing a hot dog as the quintessential tube-steak.

It’s contextually accurate.

With that out of the way, let’s zoom in on some finer points of each offering.

Tour Edge has released two new Hot Launch 521 Series Drivers.The Hot Launch E521 is designed for slice correction.The Hot Launch C521 is designed for maximum performance.Retail price for both drivers is only $229.

With the release of Hot Launch 521 (E521 and C521) drivers, Tour Edge is once again giving us pause to consider how much a new driver should really cost.

As $500 became the norm, Tour Edge struck gold as a value brand with a reputation – and a good one at that. Once among the most expensive on the market, as the leading manufacturers cut lower-priced options out of their lineups, Tour Edge saw an opportunity to reposition its Exotics franchise as a high-tech brand for ballers on a budget.

In today’s market, $349 for a new model adjustable driver is a hell of a deal. Fifty bucks more gets you adjustable track weighting.

Hot Launch 521 Drivers – No-Frills Value

For golfers willing to forgo cutting-edge tech or what I guess we can call ballers with no budget, Tour Edge’s Hot Launch line provides an even more affordable no-frills option.

Picture a shady character opening up a trunk to reveal the loot. “I’ve got Sun Mountain, I’ve got Tour Trek, and I know a guy with some Stewart X9’s at cost.”

Yes, there is a lively second-hand market for push carts. Hello 2020!

Jonathan Wall at Golf.com reports on the end in sight for manufacturers who’ve been unable to meet the push cart demand that has led to sell-outs, silly second-hand prices and supply shortages:

Dynamic Brands, along with Hansen’s ProActive Sports Groups, the distributor of Clicgear and Rovic brands for USA and Mexico, have been in the same boat as nearly every other manufacturer in the golf equipment industry. Business has been good — really good. But a double-edged sword exists.

At the end of August, Golf Datatech, an independent market research firm, reported a record-breaking month for U.S. golf equipment sales in July, as total sales (on and off the course) soared to $388.6 million. It was the highest total since the company started tracking data in 1997.

Clicgear was already forecasting an increase in sales with the release of its Model 4.0 push-cart — its first new model in several years. What the company didn’t expect was how the pandemic would shape their business. With more golfers requesting push carts than ever before, Clicgear blew through its current supply of Model 4.0’s, along with the rest of its stock. They’ve been playing catch-up ever since with a deep backlog of orders.

A class action lawsuit joined last week by eleven Golf Channel employees has prompted the closing of the network’s Orlando headquarters. The campus is slated for permanent demise this December, with a small number of jobs moving to Stamford, Connecticut where NBC Sports is currently located.

In a late Friday email to staff shared by multiple sources, Golf Channel president Mike McCarley cited the lawsuit in announcing the need to investigate.

“In light of the allegations, we are thoroughly investigating the matter to ensure that our campus environment is safe,” McCarley wrote. “While we do so, out of an abundance of caution, we ask that you continue to work remotely as has been the case during the pandemic. Over the next few days, we will communicate with the limited number of employees currently allowed on-site to further limit access, involving moving our production off-site beginning Monday.”

Another sources says a traditional Monday email to staff offered no follow-up news but did highlight National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and a reminder for staff to get flu shots.

The channel faces at least two known lawsuits but none directly related to the Lockheed Martin class-action suit announced last week and reported on by the Orlando Sentinel.