Golfing News & Blog Articles

TaylorMade has unveiled a new species of spider: the Spider FCG.

While this mallet putter definitely shares some DNA with its Spider ancestors, the FCG may be better categorized as an evolutionary offshoot. You will recognize classic Spider characteristics such as multi-material construction and a True Roll insert. However, you’ll quickly discover that the Spider FCG is truly living on a different web.

Putting Your Best Face Forward

The most significant design change with the Spider FCG is indicated in its name. “FCG” stands for Forward Center of Gravity. Those of you familiar with Spider design, and mallet design in general, will see that this is a departure from convention. Typical mallet design pushes the weight rearward and outward. This boosts MOI and ultimately causes the center of gravity to be towards the back of the putter.

It’s one of the greatest differences between mallet and blade putters. Blades feel like blades and mallets feel like mallets because of the overall distribution of head weight. A putter is going to feel different if the mass is at the face, like a blade, or inches behind the face, like a mallet.

This is it, people. The Mizuno JPX921 Iron is here, or at least coming soon. As a man who appreciates the beauty of MP but leans heavily towards JPX, I’m here for all of it. This is the one I’m always waiting for.

Fans of any one brand or even product families have stories, milestones … something you can point to on a timeline to explain why a product resonates with you. Maybe it’s a club you played back in the day. Maybe a brand rep liked your tweet. It can be any reason at all but for many in Mizuno’s camp, because it’s a Mizuno has always been reason enough.

For me, it started with the JPX850. It remains one of my favorite irons of all time and I kick myself (several times a year) for ever letting them go. Within the broader Mizuno ecosystem, JPX850 was the iron that began reshaping and redefining JPX as something other than Mizuno’s game-improvement offering.

JPXEZ undid some of that but we won’t talk about that.

Looks can be (purposely) deceiving. That’s the premise behind the Mizuno ES21 wedge.

Attire that you can actually wear from the office to the golf course. A work conference in a tropical location. The mullet. Anything that looks how we want it to but functions as we need it to is a rare gem, indeed.

It’s the beauty of multi-functionality.

Skinny

Mizuno is adamant that the ES21 is not a game-improvement wedge. I repeat, this is not a game improvement wedge.

The new TaylorMade SIM DHY and UDI utility irons represent both a jump to the left and a step to right for the company. In either case, both are a giant step away from the GAPR experiment.

If you’re the kind of golfer who finds utility irons exciting, we could probably hang out. Sure, irons are sexy, wedges are cool, and putters are fun, but utility irons are kinda like kale. They are potentially good for you, but they’re no meat-lovers pizza with extra everything.

You may or may not find the new TaylorMade DHY and UDI utility irons exciting, but they are interesting, especially within the context of GAPR. And depending on your game, you may find something that fills a, uhh, gap.

GAPR: Folly or Forethought

Two years ago, TaylorMade took a stab at creating a new category in that undiscovered country between driving irons and hybrids. GAPR LO, MID, and HI bridged a gap many of us didn’t know existed and did so rather garishly. They performed, but looks-wise they were, well, an acquired taste.

Do golfers need three options between irons and metal woods that aren’t hybrids? Apparently not, as GAPR is gone and TaylorMade is calling the new models what they are: utility irons.

We’ve covered TaylorMade’s MG2 series before. You can read the specifics here and not much has changed with this release. With the TaylorMade MG2 TW Wedge, you still get the milled sole for more precise tolerances. You still get a laser-etched surface texture for more spin on short shots (actual mileage may vary) and you get optimized mass distribution for control. And, of course, you get Raw Face Technology. What’s new here are the letters TW and the new grinds that come with them.

All of the above gives you the chance to play the same wedges (more or less) that Tiger plays – and I actually like that. TaylorMade says Tiger’s sole designs feature complex and unique sole geometry and while that might be true, what we’re talking about are two new mid-high bounce MG2 options designed for versatility.

TaylorMade MG2 TW Sand Wedge

The 56-degree sand wedge has 12 degrees of bounce. As you expect from all things Tiger, it’s designed with versatility and creativity in mind. The aggressive heel relief allows the face to be opened, closed or, if you’re feeling crazy, played dead nuts square. The Tiger perspective is that the versatility allows him to manipulate the shot based on what the lie gives him.

TaylorMade MG2 TW Lob Wedge

With the golf equipment market booming, TaylorMade is pushing ahead with the release of its three new P7 series irons – the P7MB, P7MC and the P770.

Just one guy’s opinion here but, frankly, the first two look like solid-enough designs elevated by descriptive language borrowed heavily from Mizuno’s linguistic playbook. The third, the P770, offers a simple story but packs a powerful punch that could redefine a category that has perhaps lost its way.

Each of the three models targets the better player, though there’s some wiggle room with the P770. Its market appeal should prove to be orders of magnitude higher than the other two (probably combined), so let’s start there.

TaylorMade P770

TaylorMade’s tagline for P770 is Let the Sibling Rivalry Begin. That rivalry is with the P790 which is, by any reasonable measure, P770’s big brother. P770 has got Speed Foam, tungsten weighting (up to 46 grams) and Thru Slot Speed Pockets. Cosmetically, the design is cleaner than P790 (“clean” is a theme across all of TaylorMade’s new irons) but the shape is similar, though smaller enough to matter.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry was deputized as a "guest reporter'' for the final round of the PGA Championship, and he rewarded Collin Morikawa with the first two questions after his win.

Geoffshackelford.com readers had faith in the 23-year-old

Those words are surreal to type given that just three years ago we were getting ready to know Collin Morikawa better at the 2017 Walker Cup. Even though he stayed at Cal for four years and was an All-American in each, and even though he seems to average 69.2 at every level he plays, it’s nonetheless stunning to see him win at 23 against a field where nearly all of the top players were relevant on a course presented in classic major championship fashion.

Even better, while his ability to hit fairways and overall steadiness was vital, it was the one major risk he took Sunday at the par-4 16th that made the difference. Here’s is Ben Everill’s account at PGATour.com on a shot we’ll talk about for years to come.

I’ve filed for The Athletic on that and many other components from the day, but just in case you missed the shot for the ages, here is Morikawa driving the 16th green where he made eagle en route to his -13 winning total.

Instead of a three-peat, Koepka's final-round letdown at the PGA Championship was a cold dose of reality -- a day after taking a shot at Dustin Johnson's resume.

In normal times, the tee shot Collin Morikawa hit on the 16th hole Sunday at the PGA Championship would have resulted in deafening cheers. Instead, it was met with a few claps. At age 23, he hit a shot for the ages to win the year's first major.

Collin Morikawa, a 23-year-old California native and Berkeley graduate, won the PGA Championship in his second appearance in a major at San Francisco's TPC Harding Park.

Danielle Kang followed a late bogey with two straight birdies and four closing pars for a 3-under 68 that were enough for a one-shot victory and her second straight win in Ohio.

August 9, 2020

NorCal Connection: Cal Alum Collin Morikawa Wins PGA Championship

Cal-Berkeley alum Collin Morikawa came across the Bay and made history at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.

The 23-year-old, a two-time All-America Scholar who graduated from Cal in 2019, carded a clutch eagle on the par-4 16th and held on from there for a final round 64 to win his first major championship title in what was just his second start in a major.

Morikawa is the third-youngest winner of the PGA Championship since World War II, behind only Rory McIlroy and Jack Nicklaus. He also becomes the youngest player to break 65 in the final round of a major victory ever.

“It’s amazing. It’s been a life goal of mine since I was a little kid,” said Morikawa, a native of Los Angeles. “I felt very comfortable from the start of my career, as a junior, then as an amateur and then turning pro last year. To finally close it out here in San Francisco…it’s pretty special. It’s pretty much my second home where I spent the last four years.”

Rory McIlroy took issue with Brooks Koepka noting that Dustin Johnson had "only" won one major win when assessing his own chances at winning a third straight Wanamaker Trophy.

California teenager Rose Zhang won the longest U.S. Women's Amateur title match in 54 years, denying Gabriela Ruffels a repeat victory Sunday when the 20-year-old Australia missed a 3-foot par putt on the 38th hole.

Tiger Woods rediscovered his putting stroke Sunday to put together a solid round, but he finished well off the pace at the PGA Championship.

Andy Sullivan held off a spirited challenge from Spain's Adrian Otaegui to lift his fourth European Tour title at the English Championship in Hertfordshire on Sunday.

Sean Zak at Golf.com sums up the whirlwind energy booster that was Phil Mickelson’s booth (audition?) appearance on Saturday’s CBS PGA Championship coverage.

Mickelson joined the national broadcast for 90 electric minutes shortly after his third round Saturday, and despite the golf at TPC Harding Park being plenty entertaining on its own, what Mickelson brought to the booth was a breath of fresh air. A liveliness filled with information. If social media was any indication — and in this case it probably is — Mickelson’s performance was a hit. Once he really found his groove, it was perhaps his best work on the golf course this season.

The appearance, at least the part I could hear between some other duties and golf watching on site, was this: while over-caffeinated, Mickelson gave the show a jolt of life and inside-the-ropes energy akin to what Tony Romo has brought to CBS’s NFL coverage. Delineating something as small as the difference between missing the 4th fairway right, instead of left, just took you into that mindset of an all-time great who is also competing this week.

But more than that, he just brought a willingness to talk, inject life and make things fun. Generally, I’d say he was almost talking too much, but he also dispelled the myth that golf announcing has to be hushed. Golf needs this kind of analysis and energy to match the increased quality of the pictures and overall production delivery (which CBS is doing this week…along with help from the Kaze drone team and Goodyear Blimp crews bringing the prime cut eye candy).

Now, Phil’s energy level does call into question his motives. Maybe he just had a stronger than usual coffee that is the secret to his weight loss. Or, has he realized his future and it involves getting fit for an IFB and blue CBS blazer? Could he bring a similar passion when under contract and with nothing to prove? Or when he’s not actually playing that week?

There are plenty of players within reach of the PGA Championship. Two names stand out most: Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka. But there are others with a shot. It's time to assess the notable names on a jam-packed leaderboard.

Dustin Johnson sank eight birdies on his way to a 5-under 65 on Saturday and will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the PGA Championship.