Golfing News & Blog Articles

Ernie Els survived a double bogey and wound up with a 4-under 68 to be part of a three-way tie for the lead in the PGA Tour Champions season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii.

Patrick Cantlay, tied for the first-round lead, will take a one-shot lead into the weekend after shooting a 68 on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course.

Nelly Korda shot 6-under 66 at Lake Nona on Friday to take a 1-shot lead over Gaby Lopez and Danielle Kang in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

Santiago De la Fuente del Valle has a chance to win the LAAC and a spot in the Masters. How he got here is quite the story.

Julián Périco of Peru shot a 66 at the Latin America Amateur Championship on Friday to set a 36-hole scoring record for the event. He leads by three strokes.

“I used to write down that I want to win five times, I want to win a major, I want to win The Race to Dubai, I want to win the FedEx Cup…but I can’t control it. There’s so many other variables in there. I’d rather set goals that are objective and measurable, that I’m in control of.” – Rory McIlroy

As I go through the goal setting process for the students I work with, we start with their dream goals (and motivation for achieving them), then we shift focus to goals that the player has more control over.

Trying to win doesn’t work

Why not set goals for tournament wins? After all, isn’t that what we want?

Of course we all want successful outcomes, but aiming our sights on that form of success can hold us back from it.

Making our measure of success about where we finish in a tournament or the score we shoot (the final outcome), adds pressure to it which can interfere with doing the things we need to do (in the moment) to continually progress. Think about a round of golf, if hitting each shot as best you can and following your pre shot routine is the goal (among other things that are on your mental game scorecard), there’s going to be less trying and pressure compared to “the success of this round is all about where I finish”.

Rory McIlroy and Colin Morikawa stayed in contention to make the weekend in Abu Dhabi as Scott Jamieson maintained his one-shot lead.

Wilson Triad Golf Balls – Key Takeaways

Cast urethane, three-piece ball for golfers who want to “break 80.”High MOI due to balanced density in all three layers85 compression$39.99 per dozen. Available Feb 15.

The new Wilson Triad might very well be one of the most innovative golf balls of 2022. Whether “innovative” actually means “better” is a different discussion but the tech story behind this ball is fairly compelling as is the go-to-market strategy.

Wilson introduced the Triad in New York City last night, hosting a media event at its new Wilson retail store on Broadway (more on that later). The Triad is aimed at a specific golfer: the aspiring player who’s striving to break 80. And, if we read the marketing tea leaves correctly, that aspiring player also happens to be on the young side, probably under 40.

If that sounds like you or if you like the idea of a cast-urethane, mid-compression ball for less than $40, then you may want to try the Triad.

Wilson Golf Balls: Under the Radar?                                                                                                           

MyGolfSpy’s 2021 ball test gave us several surprise performers, two of which were Wilson. Wilson’s Staff Model (and its unpainted brother, the Staff Model R) and the older Wilson DUO Professional should have raised your eyebrows a little. The 99-compression Staff Model finished first in driver ball speed for both low and mid-swing speeds and was in a virtual tie for first in high swing speeds (1/100th of an mph behind Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash).

The Staff Model was also among the top five balls for spin for 115 and 100 mph swing speeds and was in the top five for wedge spin. Perhaps the dark horse performer of the test was the 63-compression DUO Professional. The DUO Professional was one of the lowest-spinning balls throughout the test with the driver which is good if you want distance. It was in the top 10 in driver distance for both 85 and 100 MPH swing speeds. It was also among the lowest spinning balls with irons, which is good if you want distance. It’s not so good, however, if you want to do something crazy like stop the ball on a green.

Ernie Els birdied the final hole Thursday for an 8-under 64 and a one-shot lead at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. David Duval had a 74 in his Champions debut.

Bob Goalby, who won the 1968 Masters without having to go to a playoff when Roberto De Vicenzo infamously signed for the wrong score, has died. He was 92.

Patrick Cantlay had a sub-60 round in his sights before closing with five straight pars for a 62. It still was good for a share of first-round lead with PGA Tour rookie Lee Hodges in The American Express.

Segundo Oliva Pinto and Roberto Nieves both shot a first-round 66 and are tied for the lead at the Latin American Amateur Championship.

Gaby Lopez leads at Lake Nona by one shot over a foursome of players at 68 that included three major champions: world No. 1 Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang and Yuka Saso.

The 2020 winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship changed his body and moved to the United States. The focus on was on doing whatever necessary to become a top-notch professional.

Scott Jamieson took a one-shot lead in the opening round of the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi after carding 63 to finish at nine-under on Thursday.

According to an email obtained by MyGolfSpy, Nassau, the South Korean golf ball manufacturer recently purchased by TaylorMade, will produce only TaylorMade-branded products moving forward.

Fortunately for budget-minded golfers, there does appear to be at least one notable exception. Nassau’s largest and best-known client is the Massachusetts-based Snell Golf, owned and operated by Dean Snell. Snell is the former TaylorMade golf ball chief and a former Titleist engineer who helped develop the Pro V1. From what MyGolfSpy has been able to learn, supply-chain issues continue to impact Snell’s inventory but every indication is that the TaylorMade/Nassau facility will continue to supply Snell with golf balls.

The Nassau plant is one of the few facilities in the world capable of making cast urethane-covered golf balls. Before the acquisition, Nassau supplied TaylorMade with finished urethane and ionomer balls as well as cores and mantle layers for TP5 balls which are finished at TaylorMade’s South Carolina facility.

Of note, Nassau was also responsible for the original Kirkland Signature four-piece urethane ball in 2016.

A Surprise Notice

In addition to Snell, Nassau also has produced balls for smaller direct-to-consumer brands and range-ball brands. It has also sold balls in Europe and Asia under its own brand name such as the Nassau Quattro.