Golfing News & Blog Articles

The PGA Tour heads to Memphis, where Brooks Koepka will defend his title at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Here are our experts' best bets.

Andrew Tursky at Golf.com notes that the designer of the discount retailer’s first serious golf club is “Southern California Design Company” in Carlsbad.

But of greater note, the company has shown it can make an impact on the industry with a quality product.

@costco Kirkland Signature wedges are real, and they're on the @usga conforming list (52, 56 and 60 degrees). Would you give them a try?!

In the middle of an 11-week run with two majors on the schedule, CBS has lost Davis Love after the Hall of Famer has decided to focus on his playing career:

pic.twitter.com/KPUYrI0QLY

— Davis Love III (@Love3d) July 28, 2020

Hired after the network did not renew Peter Kostis and Gary McCord, the Love era got off to a rough start earlier this year.

In March, the Love family home burned down.

Only recently did the 56-year-old resurface on the airwaves after he played in the RBC Heritage, Travelers and Workday Charity Open.

I can’t fathom what is the rush to get players back who are not needed to sell tickets—the events are fan free—or to risk what is increasingly looking like the one sport that will carry on in America. And yet…

Bob Harig reports on the PGA Tour allowing players to play and intermingle with their peers within 24 hours of not having a fever, even if they continue to test positive for COVID-19.

They also will be allowed to use the clubhouse and locker room and will not be separated with special tee times, as has been the case in recent weeks. The policy goes into effect at this week's WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and the Barracuda Championship.

The special COVID-19 theme groupings were a brutal but a necessary precaution. Yet as with having an indoor gym each week, the idea of letting positive players roam freely indoors boggles the rational mind given what we now know about COVID-19 spread.

Reminder time!

12th hole at Kingston Heath (Geoff Shackelford)

No Kingston Heath later this year. Best case: January to March is an option.

For Immediate and Disappointing Release:

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESCHEDULED

The Australian Open will not be played in 2020.

Golf Australia operations manager Simon Brookhouse remains very hopeful that the national championship, the fifth oldest in professional golf, will still be played this summer.

“These are very challenging times for all Australians and the uncertainty the global pandemic has caused makes it very difficult to be definitive in relation to future dates at this time,” Brookhouse said.

“We will continue our positive ongoing discussions with our major stakeholders which include the Victorian Government, our corporate partners, the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia and other international tours about potential dates. However, it must be noted that there are many unknowns at the moment, which is problematic.”

The 105th edition of the Australian Open was to have been held in November, with multiple dates having been on the table. But Brookhouse said public health considerations had been the main reason behind making the decision to postpone.

“Then, when you consider the rescheduled major championships, particularly the Masters from 12-15 November, assembling the customary world-class field was also becoming increasingly difficult,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it is not a simple matter of whether or not we could co-ordinate any international stars to visit. The uncertainty of the quarantine requirements for any players coming from outside Australia needed to be considered. These requirements would undoubtedly have an impact on our homegrown heroes before they would be able to consider playing, too,” he said.

“With all that in mind, we would like to think we could still play the Australian Open this summer and will work with the host, Melbourne’s Kingston Heath Golf Club, to find a date suitable for all.

“However it may have to be in the January-March 2021 window with so many variables still to play out.”

The decision means the Australian All Abilities Championship, which features the top 12 players on the World Rankings for Golfers with a Disability, will also be delayed as the tournament is played as part of the Australian Open field.

Brookhouse said Golf Australia and its event partner, Sportfive, would continue to monitor the situation and provide updates when any additional information is available.

The lack of a star-studded leaderboard still didn’t hurt CBS and Golf Channel’s numbers too terribly, as the 2020 3M Championship win by Michael Thompson saw a 14% increase over last year’s event captured by Matthew Wolff.

According to CBS, the overall run of “return” events is up 25% over last year. A nice increase even given that 2019 ratings were down.

CBS Sports’ @PGATOUR Coverage Continues to Score Viewership Increases, this time with @3MOpen pic.twitter.com/4tC756tBNi

— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) July 28, 2020

The 3M’s ratings also highlight just how dismal the numbers were for a strong field at the 2019 WGC FedEx St. Jude, won by Brooks Koepka and which aired on a comparable weekend:

The PGA Tour has made a modification to its health and safety policy that will allow players and caddies who test positive for COVID-19 and have symptoms to return to competition after 10 days and just 24 hours without a fever.

Credit to Ryan Barath at GolfWrx for spotting the Costco Kirkland Signature wedge in the USGA’s conforming grooves database. Inclusion on the USGA list strongly suggests that the big box wholesale club is rapidly transitioning from rumor to reality where its golf club line is concerned.

As you no doubt recall, Costco made an immediate splash in the golf ball world with its original 4-piece Kirkland Signature Golf Ball. A second 4-piece offering had issues, but the 3-piece Performance+ remains one of the best values on the market.

Earlier this year, it released a Kirkland Signature Putter, which remains perpetually out of stock online.

Kirkland Signature wedges are undoubtedly coming. Rumors of drivers and irons persist. It’s a safe bet this is just the beginning for Kirkland Signature as a golf brand.

The most discernible difference beyond the new name and first use of “Betting” appears to be more access to video for DraftKings. For those with aspirations, the release also indicates others can become “Official Betting Operators” so bookies of the world, don’t get too discouraged by this release:

DraftKings becomes PGA TOUR’s first Official Betting Operator

Expands DraftKings’ rights to include betting in addition to daily fantasy

 

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA, and BOSTON – The PGA TOUR and DraftKings Inc. (Nasdaq: DKNG), have announced an expansion of their multi-year content and marketing relationship today that now designates DraftKings as the first “Official Betting Operator of the PGA TOUR.” In July 2019, DraftKings became the TOUR’s first “Official Daily Fantasy Game of the PGA TOUR” as part of a multi-year, exclusive arrangement.

Tiger Woods has played one tournament in five months. He's not at this week's WGC event. So how ready will he be for next week's PGA Championship? There's a lot to consider.

DraftKings has become the official betting partner of the PGA Tour.

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We’re changing up our schedule! No Putts Given is moving to a biweekly format. It’s the same show but now twice a week. Be sure to subscribe to stay notified of every new episode.

Who can resist the shine of a brand new set of irons? All of us, apparently. Used golf equipment can be a smart buy, but beware the caveats.

2:09  – Should you buy used golf equipment?28:47  – Most Wanted: The Best Performance Gloves of 2020

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Also available on:

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and all major podcast apps.

 

The post Should You Buy Used Golf Equipment? | #NoPuttsGiven 47 appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

2020 TRAVEL BAG BUYER’S GUIDE

How wonderful does a golf getaway sound?

It’s almost rude to tempt you during a global pandemic. But one day… one day… we’ll be globetrotters again.

And when that time comes, you’ll need to know how to protect your clubs from potential hazards at the airport because, in this particular scenario, a mask and hand sanitizer just won’t be enough to keep your clubs safe and sound.

The golf travel bag has changed from the hard case to a material that absorbs the blows from those careless baggage handlers while protecting your clubs. Although protection is the main priority of a travel bag, ease of travel should also be considered. We all know some airports make you walk miles before dropping off your travel bag so an effective wheel system is a must.

We put the best travel bags of 2020 to the test to ensure you receive the best advice possible when purchasing a new unit. So study up and dream of better days ahead!

In his weekly Daily Mail column, Derek Lawrenson catches up with instructor Pete Cowen who is clearly feeling better after suspecting in March he had contracted COVID-19.

The guru to the star golfers is in Memphis this week to work with Brooks Koepka find his game. Koepka has a strong track record in Memphis and is the two-time defending PGA Champion next week.

Cowen does not see Koepka’s balky knee as a hurdle to success.

‘When you get an injury as bad as that you’re never 100 per cent right again,’ said Cowen. ‘But I don’t think it’s a problem. That’s finding excuses for the fact he’s swinging it badly. We don’t need excuses, we need to sort it out.’

Cowen believes it is more a question of attitude. ‘When he’s at his best, he’s bulletproof. He doesn’t care what other people are doing, he just puts results on the board,’ he said. ‘The US Open at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 was a classic case in point. With his caddy Ricky Elliott, I was talking it through with him, how he played every hole in the final round, he was all over the place at times. But he had belief he would win. He had body language that said, “I’m going to get the job done”. That’s what we need to get back.’”

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank thinks President Donald Trump could use more time on the golf course to apply the game’s values to the COVID-19 fight.

Above all, though, golf is a game of honor. If you hook your tee shot into the woods, you look for the ball for five minutes, then assess yourself a penalty stroke if you can’t find it. That may be the hardest lesson of all for Trump. According to those who have played with him, Trump doesn’t take a penalty stroke; he simply gives himself a “mulligan” — a free do-over. It lowers his score, but it’s cheating.

Maybe that’s why he has such trouble with the pandemic. He can get away with cheating on the golf course. But covid-19, as we have seen, does not allow mulligans.

Hey at least for a change a prominent columnist sees golf as a plus!

Fine, fine work by The Fried Egg’s Garrett Morrison to present the history of the golf ball in fresh fashion and format. I highly recommend all three episodes and his effort to educate audiences to the remarkable strife and conflict the matter of selling golf balls has delivered to golf.

I learned a lot and felt unabashedly reassured that some form of golf ball regulation would be a really good thing for the game. But that’s me. I’m guessing even those who do not agree and place the perceived profit impact of a few companies over what’s best for the sport, will still feel more intelligent after listening.

Check out wherever you get your podcasts or listen here:

Without having seen CBS’s schedule, little imagination is still not required to tally up and realize ESPN, with CBS, will essentially provide wall-to-wall coverage from Harding Park. That’s a product of the new long-term rights schedule for next week’s PGA Championship. Notice just how much ESPN+ (only available via streaming that milliennials still don’t pay for), is handling coverage, including early in the week and even when CBS is taking over. While the Worldwide Leader will have nice-sized cable broadcast windows all four days, this is still my nice way of reminding hardcore fans to your affairs in order: namely, your streaming subscriptions.

And while you’re at it, the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle is the better deal. Everyone could use some Mandalorian in their lives.

Golf Australia said the Australian Open tournament will be postponed until at least early 2021.

Here’s your 10 minute mental game warm-up to increase your confidence and prepare you for a strong performance in your next round. Do this shortly before you leave the house for the course. Find a place where you won’t be disturbed for 10 minutes and put your phone away.

If you prefer audio to reading, please click the play button or “listen in browser” below.

Your Winning 10 Minute Mental Game Warm Up

Step 1: Relax (3 mins)

Sit down with your back straight and your hands in your lap.

Start with some deep breaths to calm down your body and mind. You will probably be nervous before a round, which is perfectly normal, but in order to perform well, you will need to make sure your mind is quiet and your body is relaxed.

Inhale through your nose until your belly goes out and exhale fully through your mouth. As you breathe, notice where your mind is and how your body feels. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your breath.

After a minute or so of deep breathing, return to your normal breathing and scan your body to notice any tension. Start with your face, noticing any tension in your facial muscles and jaw. If you notice tension, breath into it and soften it. Move slowly to your neck and shoulders, all the way down your arms, to the wrists and fingers. Bring awareness to the sensations in each individual part of your body. Feel the chest and diaphragm moving with your breath. Move down each leg, into the ankles feet and toes. Be aware of exactly how you feel and use your breathing to release any stress and tension.