Golfing News & Blog Articles

Chris Kirk shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take the second-round lead at the Detroit Golf Club, and Webb Simpson later shot a 64 to pull into a tie atop the leaderboard at 12-under 132.

He has a share of the lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic after two rounds. But it how far he has come in his personal life after taking seven months to deal with depression, anxiety and alcoholism that matters most.

Golfers looking to play in the PGA Championship next month must first test negative for COVID-19, one of many requirements or recommendations laid out in a digital handbook sent to players and obtained by ESPN's Bob Harig.

Depending on who you listen to, Cannabidiol (aka CBD), is either a miracle elixir, snake oil, or something in between. As an industry, CBD is a wild, wild, and totally unregulated world. That can lead to outlandish claims, occasional charlatans, and marketing hype that makes the golf industry look like a church bake sale. Kanibi – a higher-end maker of CBD oil – is looking to change that.

Kanibi, among others, is taking a long, slow approach to building a sustainable, profitable business. MyGolfSpy’s CBD Buyer’s Guide was our first attempt to help you separate the wheat from the chaff. That piece went into great detail on the pros, cons, myths, and realities of CBD, as well as what to look for when researching CBD. The purpose of this article is to share with you Kanibi’s unique, and self-described boring, approach to the industry.

Kanibi – The Boring CBD

“We’re okay being boring,” says Peter Van Newhyzen of Kanibi CBD. “We don’t need to see huge wins immediately. Our whole approach is that we’re kind of crazy about every aspect of our business. We want to be the best in every single phase.”

Pop culture has always been rife with miracle cures. Back in 1885, pharmacist Charles Alderton sold his new soft drink, Dr. Pepper, as a digestive aid that “restores vim, vigor, and vitality.” In the 1950s, Geritol was the cure for “iron-poor, tired blood.” And what your Mom told you about carrots being good for your eyesight? Yeah, carrots have vitamin A, but British Intelligence concocted the eyesight story during World War II. They leaked that RAF pilots were shooting down more Nazi bombers thanks to their love of carrots. Better that than to let the Nazi’s know the real reason: the RAF’s new Airborne Interception Radar system.

Is it possible for putting practice to be fun?  Is it possible for a training aid to make you want to spend extended time “practicing”? Can an affordable putting simulator offer you realistic feedback on your golf game?

When we say affordable, we mean cheaper than some of the current drivers on the market now.

ExPutt is an at-home indoor putting training aid and simulator that provides golfers the kind of data that previously required really expensive, enterprise-grade equipment. Can a more budget-friendly putting tool give you the same type of experience?  We are going to let four of you tell the MyGolfSpy community.

Testers Wanted

We’re looking for FOUR golfers who are motivated, detail-oriented, and committed to providing a thorough review to put the EXPutt to the test.

Eastside Golf isn't just making a fashion statement; it's making a statement that everyone can play golf.

With purported campus-wide restrictions on work hours and staff leaving several university courses closed, there certainly are greater problems facing America’s institutions of higher learning. That said, as feared last month when word surfaced that arguably the finest university course in the land was not open and losing key staff members, it seemed Yale’s tortured relationship with his C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor gem would not be helped by the pandemic.

Sure enough, things have deteriorated quickly based on these images posted by Daryl Brereton:

Good bye Yale golf course. @gil_hanse @fried_egg_golf @golfersjournal @golficity @insidetheleatherpodcast @nolayingup @csgalinks #golfheadz #yalegolf #charlesblairmacdonald #sethraynorsociety #sethraynor

The university intends to host students and faculty this fall on campus. The ones who like golf will not have a functioning, maintained course to return to.

Global Golf Post’s Ron Sirak looks at the still-stunning USGA media rights reversion to NBC after Fox decided to eat a sizeable portion of the bloated price they paid in 2013.

He noted this on the timing, suggesting it was strictly a deal between the networks.

The first conversations took place during the spring but gained momentum in the past two weeks.

According to multiple sources, as discussions about NBC taking the 2020 broadcast evolved and NBC Universal showed willingness to assume the deal, Fox Sports executives Eric Shanks and Larry Jones brought the idea of transferring the rights to USGA chief executive officer Mike Davis earlier this month. Davis was apparently unaware of the impending change until the time of that presentation.

Executives within the Fox Sports golf team were not made aware of the potential change until last Thursday. The rest of the crew, including announcers Joe Buck, Curtis Strange, Paul Azinger, Brad Faxon and others, were not informed until Sunday afternoon.

Longtime golf writer Craig Dolch returns in the Palm Beach Post pages to share with anti-mask-wearing world just one more sad and profound consequence of COVID-19’s horrifying spread among Americans: some in group homes no longer can receive visits. Including his son Eric, now 29, who was struck with a bacterial infection at age 14 and requires group home care. In Florida, visitors are prohibited in such facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eric’s situation is no different than thousands of elderly and sick individuals throughout Florida who have been left isolated because of the pandemic. Families have been unable to say goodbye to their parents or grandparents, not to mention how difficult it is for those who have become prisoners in their facilities. More than 1,500 people have died in long-term care facilities in Florida due to COVID-19.

So excuse me when someone says it’s their right not to wear a mask. What about my son’s rights and others who have no control over how the public reacts to the greatest medical crisis of our lifetime?
Without a mask, they are the silent face of this pandemic. They have no say.

For weeks, I was counting down the days to July 1 – the date we expected the governor to allow visitors into these homes again. I stopped doing that two weeks ago when the number of positive tests in Florida started to spike.

Mostly because people won’t wear masks.

Doc Redman shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to share the first-round lead with Scott Stallings and Kevin Kisner in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

The PGA Tour created an additional spot in the Charity Open field for Chase Koepka after he chose to withdraw from the Travelers out of an abundance of caution.

He's had to fight through swing changes, and the blisters that come with swing changes, to find his missing game. It's only one round, but perhaps he's located it in Detroit, at a tournament in which his name is on the marquee.

The European Tour lifted Thorbjorn Olesen's suspension after his criminal trial was delayed until at least December 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The PGA of America is renaming its Horton Smith Award after a review of history revealed Smith defended the Caucasian-only membership clause when he served as PGA president in the early 1950s.

Score one for for Wendell Haskins, the PGA of America’s former director of inclusion efforts during CEO Pete Bevacqua’s years, who penned the organization to highlight how little they had done on the inclusion front. One highlight of the letter was his simple sentence noting Horton Smith’s overt racism.

Current CEO Seth Waugh reached out to Haskins and the two apparently had a healthy conversation that has now led to one noticeable change: the elimination of Smith’s name from the award for outstanding contributions to professional education.

For Immediate Release:

PGA of America Board Votes to Rename the Horton Smith Award

PGA of America sheds historic award with racial ties

GolfDigest.com’s John Feinstein follows up with Charlie Rymer about the longtime player and commentator’s COVID-19 battle. He’s back home in Myrtle Beach gradually recuperating. The story includes several noteworthy details beyond Rymer’s Tweets earlier this week, including his hospitalization, wife Carol’s role in his care and the comments from the lunatic he wasn’t expecting.

As always please hit the link, but just one part that stood out:

Country singer Vince Gill, a very good golfer Rymer has played with often, sent a video that was entertaining and funny. Former Acushnet CEO Wally Uihlein sent a text, and so did Pete Bevacqua, the president of the NBC Sports Group. Quite a few players also got in touch, including Harris English, who recently tested positive for COVID-19.

“I still can’t do a whole lot, so it’s been nice to sit here and read some of the notes and then take some time to respond and say thank you,” Rymer said. “I’d never say this is something I’d want to go through or would want to see anyone to go through, but I think in the end it can be a blessing.”

For many of us, there are one or two guys we’d rather not play with. For whatever reason, we just seem to play worse when paired with them. Someone I used to play with was a great guy but EVERY time we played together, I scuzzed it all over the course. Would it surprise you to learn that tour players deal with the same issue?

Last week, Bubba Watson was asked if it mattered with whom he played for the first two rounds.

“It matters tremendously. There’s guys that are a shot, maybe a two-shot, penalty when you see their name on that sheet. Maybe that’s what they say about me, too, so I guess it works both ways.” – Bubba Watson

I was curious if this could be quantified. Are there some players whose presence in a group causes others to play worse? Are there some that have the opposite effect and bring out the best in their playing partners?

Was it as challenging to play with Tiger in the fourth round as the commentators would have us believe?

The Courier’s Craig Smith explains plans for expanding the R&A Clubhouse (underground) along with other security updates. The building opened in early 1854 and now must accommodate the club’s inclusion of female members. Of course, none of this is open to the public so I’d understand your lack of interest. But it is golf’s most iconic clubhouse so…

However, the R&A’s new application for listed building consent for the proposed works represents one of the biggest changes in living memory.

It has not yet been revealed how much the redevelopment will cost but it is anticipated to be well into seven figures.

According to the proposals, 450 combined male and female lockers, providing adequate bench and hanging space, will be created along with showers and toilet facilities.

Bag storage areas catering for up to 500 golf bags and trolleys are planned, as are a drying room, a family-friendly meeting area to assist in the promotion of junior golf and a new arrival/drop off layby to improve the road network.

No one knows anything, or so the saying goes. Especially in a time of pandemic where the unknowns and mysteries keep even experts guessing, so you can’t blame the PGA Tour for altering their guidelines almost daily. The latest adjustment comes in the case of Cameron Champ, who arrived last week from Houston, tested positive for COVID-19, withdrew but subsequently tested negative twice.

And now, he gets a rule in his honor.

For Immediate Release.

PGA TOUR Statement – Health & Safety Plan Updates

July 1, 2020

With Titleist asking a few pros to hit shots with a dimple-free demonstration ball—video below—Golf.com’s Jonathan Wall says it reminds us how important those little indentations are to the modern ball.

So the next time you hammer a drive and watch the ball soar downrange, take a minute to tip your cap to the ball designer working diligently on the dimples. Without them, you’d need to be Iron Byron to keep it on the map.

Maybe we take just a few off for the pros-15 or so?-make it spin just a little more and see who really hits on the sweet spot? Or who knows how to use the spin to shape a shot? Think of the tracer fun!

Again, just a thought…