Golfing News & Blog Articles

Ed Orgeron wasn't too upset to leave LSU, LeBron James gives props to Frances Tiafoe, Rory McIlroy throws more shade at LIV and JR Smith has a Michael Jordan trash talk story.

I know what you’re thinking. What the heck is StockX and what does it have to do with golf?

Footwear aficionados have been watching the exponential growth of this online sneaker marketplace. At its inception, StockX’s big selling point was the ability to sell rare, limited goods in a safe space where both the buyer and seller are protected against fraud.

Fast forward to now: StockX is much more than an online sneaker retailer. It seems StockX is tackling new goods and collectibles every week. From sports cards to electronics, StockX is the place to go to for limited, hard-to-find items.

Yes, you can buy a plethora of golf items from StockX—mostly rare golf shoes but there are plenty of golf accessories that you won’t see anywhere else. While StockX may be little known to you, I’ve been on the platform for years and am excited about the possibility of you finding your next favorite pair of golf kicks on the resale market.

From the rare to the forgotten, and everything in between, here are my top five picks of the week from StockX.

Xiyu "Janet" Lin of China had an 8-under 64 on Thursday for a one-shot lead over Nasa Hataoka in the Kroger Queen City Championship.

Play has been suspended for the rest of Thursday and for Friday at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.

I would wager that fewer than 10 percent of golfers know precisely how far they hit each club. That shouldn’t be the case.

The golf industry has been flooded by launch monitors, all claiming to be the best. But if you want the most accurate data, it comes at a price.

We have just completed an in-depth golf launch monitor test at MyGolfSpy which outlines everything you need to know about launch monitors. The Garmin R10 was included in the test but you might be surprised about where it finished compared to the best golf launch monitors on the market.

Garmin R10 Product Details

The Garmin R10 is a golf launch monitor which provides 14 different data metrics even with its small Doppler radar. The R10 also produces ball data and shows club data, allowing you to see what you’re doing at impact.

Once I dove into the Garmin R10, I was pleased with the abundance of options. You have the ability to virtually play 42,000 courses while on the range or have E6 compatibility to play courses at home. You can also play in virtual tournaments online with the R10 and compete for cash and other prizes.

Titleist has announced the TSR2, TSR3, and TSR4 driversEach offers unique improvements over the previous TSi modelRetail price is $599. Available starting 9/23

The Titleist TSR driver family is off to a good start. The Tour seeding and validation process went smoothly. Adoption at the professional level has been swift.

In its first four weeks in play, the PGA TOUR leader in Strokes Gained off the tee had a TSR in his bag. Four of the first eight events since the Tour launch of the new driver were won with TSR.

Impressive for sure but none of that helps to answer the most pressing question about the new lineup:

What does the “R” stand for?

It’s definitely not code for ridiculously spinny. I think it’s time to close the book on that.

With any product launch, it’s often the case that fairway woods draft off the success of a flagship driver.

But the Titleist TSR fairway woods stand on their own merits.

That’s the quick synopsis of what Titleist believes sets this release apart from previous generation TSi and TS series fairway woods.

Ask any fitter who’s been in the business for a long time and they’ll tell you that the 3-wood is often the hardest club to fit. You can likely extend that thinking to all fairway woods. Other than the putter, one could argue that fairway woods are the most personal club. And, like a perfect pair of jeans, a newer model isn’t necessarily any better—or what consumers want.

It presents a quandary for engineers when developing the next iteration and, to a degree, it’s a matter of melding the feedback from tour pros with the projected demands from everyday golfers. What will work for Titleist staffers like Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth and generate similar benefit for weekend warriors like Justin Smith and Jordan Johnson?

The next stop on the LPGA Tour is Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati for the Kroger Queen City Championship. Here's how you can watch all the action.

While it’s probably overstating things by more than a little to say that advanced technology putter shafts—like the new PXG M16 putter shaft—are all the rage. Offerings are growing in number and perhaps even popularity.

Fujikura, LA Golf, BGT (Stability Shaft)and Mitsubishi, and Odyssey all offer some form of graphite putter shaft. And while once rarities, you can find a few in play on the PGA TOUR.

The emergence of new putter shaft offerings wasn’t lost on PXG. The company looked at bringing something into the lineup but none of the existing stuff matched with the company’s proprietary fitting hosels.

So, true to company form, PXG figured it would just design a better one.

About the PXG M16 Putter Shaft

The Americans are loaded, and the International team has been hit hard by LIV Golf defections. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas will try to win a 10th straight Presidents Cup for the U.S. team.

Of course, we all want to sink more par and birdie putts but you will never improve your odds unless your reduce the distance of your approach shots to the green and reduce the length of your putts. This is pretty obvious but you do need a strategy to improve your odds for success.
Playing more rounds of golf will help but you need a plan to improve each shot to improve your success rate:
1/ Start at the Practice Range: Don’t waste your time or money on rounds of golf until you sort out how to make consistent hits with every club in your bag. GOLFSTR+ is a great training aid to help you hone your skills for 6 swing fixes.

2/ Identify your weaknesses and find a class or professional to learn the basics to improve your swing for every club. Your driver, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges and putter all require unique swings to either LAUNCH, POWER or IMPACT your ball at the right attack angle.

3/ Prioritize Your Holes for Success
a. Par 5’s Are Priority #1: With a good drive and a good approach shot you should be within 100 yards of the green. [If you aren’t within 100 yards, you need to either improve your consistency or move to a forward tee. Golf is meant to be a fun game and it’s a lot more fun when you can reach the green in regulation for a 2-putt par or a birdie putt.]
b. Par 4’s Are the next Easiest to Par: Your drive should be in the fairway and within 150 yards of the green. [These approach shots are more difficult than within 100 yards so you need to improve your direction control to ensure that you either land and stay on the green or land in a perfect approach area where you can easily chip it close for par.
c. Par 3s are the most difficult to Par: Typically, they are over 150 yards, loaded with hazards and they have tricky contours. [Improve your ability to choose the right club to land and roll up to the hole. Learn to avoid hitting the green and then rolling into the deep rough surrounding the green.]

4/ Practice with Your RECOVERY CLUB: If you miss or roll off the green you will typically be faced with a short chip. These shots ruin most of your chances to par many of your holes on every round. Choosing the right club to clear the rough and roll out to the hole is a good starting point.
Eliminate 80% of your mishit chips by PUTTING with the TOE OF YOUR WEDGE OR IRON. If the rough is not too deep, you can stand closer to the ball and sliding your hands down to the bottom of your grip creating a more vertical shaft , you can actually use the toe of your club to PUTT up to 5 feet out of the thick fringe.

YES, just use a putting swing to lift your ball on to the putting surface and rolling out to the hole.
Par and birdie more holes by practicing for CONSISTENT Toe Putting hits with every club. Spend some of your practice time (in your backyard or at the range) TOE PUTTING out of deep rough with an appropriate iron or wedge to lift your ball high enough to reach the green and then rollout to the hole.

PGA star Rory McIlroy says his relationships with former Ryder Cup teammates have been strained over their decisions to join and play on the LIV Golf circuit.

U.S. team captain Davis Love III filled out his Presidents Cup roster with six of the top 26 players in the Official World Golf Ranking: Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel, Cameron Young, Max Homa and Kevin Kisner.

Ever wonder what will happen to your game as time passes? How does age affect your game?

As Ben Franklin opined, “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Given Shot Scope’s database of on-course performance, it might be prudent to view Franklin’s statement through the lens of a golfer.

What is certain is that none of us is getting younger yet this data seems to suggest that age doesn’t need to be a death sentence for performance.

Quick disclaimer: Data is representative of male golfers in the Shot Scope database.

DRIVING DISTANCE

Average driving distances decrease with age.Peak driving distance occurs when golfers are 30 to 39 years old.Though distance decreases over time, golfers hit a higher percentage of fairways as they age.

Something to consider: Many equipment companies design clubs specifically around the needs of older golfers. Typically, this means lighter components (head, shaft, grip) and materials designed to boost ball speeds.

Featured groups from two upcoming LPGA tournaments will appear on ESPN+, starting this week in Cincinnati.

Billy Horschel and Jon Rahm issued sharp criticism of LIV Golf players participating in this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Rickie Fowler, who has fallen to 178th in the Official World Golf Ranking, is changing swing coaches after already switching caddies prior to the end of the season.

Trevor Immelman on Tuesday revealed the International team captain's picks for the 2022 Presidents Cup: K.H. Lee, Si Woo Kim, Taylor Pendrith, Cameron Davis, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Sebastian Munoz.