Golf Bucket List

Every golfer has their bucket list of dream golf vacations, personal goals, and aspirations. Now that the season of majors is over I realized I have quiet a few on my bucket list including playing or stepping foot on some of those historic courses.

My list includes aspiring to become a scratch golfer, sink that hole in one, step foot onto Augusta National Golf Course (would take just being there I wouldn’t even have to play), play Pebble Beach, watch the Ryder Cup in person, winning a golf tournament would be ideal, make the mecca trip to St. Andrew’s the birthplace of golf, and if this floating golf course ever gets built you can count me in. Not a bad golf bucket list to start on if you ask me. The odds of any of these actually coming true are highly unlikely. Ok now that I shared my deepest and darkest golf dreams what are some of yours?

TaylorMade Sells One Million

Article first published as How TaylorMade Celebrates Benchmarks on Technorati.

This has easily been one of the most unique seasons on the PGA Tour in a while. For only the second time in Tour history were all 4 majors winners 1st time major winners and let’s not forget not only was Keegan Bradley a first time winner it was his first time playing in a major. He was also the first player to win a major using the all to controversial long putter. During regular season wins on Tour it was the year of rookie domination. With 8 rookie winners and 12 first time winners it was definitely a groundbreaking season. Let’s not forget about some of the equipment stories though.

Yesterday TaylorMade made it’s mark in history selling their 1,000,000 white metalwood. They even tracked the design, manufacturing, shipping and special delivery of this club for everyone to watch. The special delivery included having top ranked TaylorMade staffer Dustin Johnson disguise as a FedEx deliveryman. Not only did that lucky customer receive his original order for an R11 driver he is also now the proud owner of a gold-plated R11 replica and of course bragging right that Dustin Johnson deliver the club to his doorstep.

Why all the buzz surrounding their white metalwoods? Ever since the R11 hit the golf market back in February it hasn’t been short on buzz. With a slew of marketing campaigns and praise from fans the R11 was easily the most coveted driver of the season. In a little under 7 months they were able to sell 1 million drivers, fairway woods and hybrids. Let’s not forget about the Burner SuperFast 2.0 the other white driver from TaylorMade. But the R11 sure did overshadow any other driver. Even on Tour it was the #1 driver in the field at all 4 majors. TaylorMade staffer Darren Clarke used his R11 to lock in his victory at The Open.

While TaylorMade may have not been the inventors of the white clubhead they will certainly be remembers as the trendsetter. While the R11 and their other white metalwoods aren’t only known for their distinctive looks they also set the standard in adjustability. The R11 driver can be customized for any shot a golfer wants with an unprecedented 48 possible settings from sole plate adjustment to moveable weights.

Fun Facts About Golf

• Originally golf balls were stuffed with feathers. The tighter packed the feathers, the further the ball would fly. This type of ball was used until 1848.
• Golf was banned in Scotland from 1457 to 1502 to ensure citizens wouldn’t waste time when preparing for the English invasion.
• Between 1990 and 2003, developers built more than 3,000 new golf courses in the United States, bringing the total to about 16,000.
• There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball. A dimpled golf ball can travel up to four times farther than smooth-surfaced golf balls.
• The term birdie comes from an American named Ab Smith. While playing in 1899, he played what he descried as a “bird of a shot”, which became “birdie” over time.
• Tiger Woods made his first ace at the age of eight years old
• When golf was first played professionally there were only 13 rules. Now there are 34.
• There are currently 2 golf balls sitting on the moon.
• About 25% of golfers are women.
• The world’s highest golf course is the Tactu Golf Club in Morococha, Peru, which sits 14,335 feet above sea level at its lowest point.
• The odds of making a hole-in-one are 3,000 to 1 for a tour pro, 5,000 to 1 for a low-handicapper and 12,000 to 1 for an average player. (According to a study by Golf Digest in 2000)
• The youngest player to score a hole-in-one was Jake Paine in 2001; he was 3 and aced a 65-yard hole in Lake, Forest California.
• Longest golf course is Nullarbor Links in Australia it’s over 850 miles.
• The longest hole is 7” hole at Satsuki Golf Course in Sano, Japan its 964 yards
• The most expensive course to play a round of golf at is Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Nevada with a price tag of $500 per round.
• 1947 was the first televised golfing event at the U.S. Open in St. Louis.

Top 5 Putters For Your Short Game

The most personal club in a golfers bag is the putter. Some golfers go so far as to give their putters a nickname (don’t think you’re the only one). Short games live and die by the putter. It’s one of the few clubs in a golfers bag they will pull out to use almost every round (if you make an ace or chip it in with a wedge of course your throwing this stat out the window). Love it or hate it golfers use this club like their game depends on it and in most cases it does. Choosing the right putter is critical, finding one that produces just the right amount of spin and has that perfected feel. Different styles of putters have been created to enhance golfers with different sets of skills. There is no right putter for a players it’s an individual choice to find the club that makes them feel they can play their best.

Odyssey White Ice DART Putter

This alignment-aided putter has the eye going straight to the hole. A weighted perimeter makes this putter stand out above the rest. Callaway also added in their popular insert to make the multi-layer putter. Proving that accurate target aim and inline putts are made easy with the alignment aid. It’s available in a mallet or blade style. This putter is one of those that really let’s a golfer to focus on their aim without compromising their mental game.

Cleveland Classic Blade Putter

A classically styled putter but updated to be worthy of the Cleveland. Revamped with better performing technology, rest assured this isn’t your grandpa’s putter. The heel-toe weighting is perfect for players looking for a classic design with modern touches and of new technology.

Wilson Staff Putters

Renowned for their high quality and affordable golf gear Wilson Staff made their collection of 888 putters with all this is mind. These precision milled putters are incorporated with cutting edge technology. If cutting down strokes on your short game is your goal your in luck. An alignment aid marks where to strike you gain consistency in the short game.

TaylorMade Ghost Spider

With a putter face that contains TaylorMade’s Pure Roll insert this putter is sure to provide ample amount of forward roll with enhanced feel and sound.  With additional moveable weights in the back to increase MOI the putter can truly to customized to a golfers game. Already a tour proven classic by Jason Day the Ghost Spider is the perfect combination of ghost putter and spider series.

Nike Method Putter

Nike’s Method Core Putters are a collection of three blades and two mallets.  A Nike Golf polymer insert enhances the putter with less backspin, less skidding, and fewer impact vibrations. Finished off with an aluminum face this Nike putter is made to improve your swing with purer putts on the green.

Whenever putter you decide is right for you don’t forget you have options with different different finishes, style, and of course brand. You can test different putter styles including blade, mallet, perimeter weighted, insert, and offset. Remember a golfers putter is and can be their best friend.

Is Golf Season Over?

While The PGA majors may be over this season that doesn’t mean that golf season is over for the regular Joe. As club manufacturers would like to remind you it really isn’t over. A slue of club manufacturers have revamped their product lines just in time for the back to school season. Adams came out with their new 9088 UL Driver, Ping introduced their entire G20 series this August, and TaylorMade finished up their extremely popular R11 line with a new set of irons.

With summer coming to an imminent close these extra hours of daylight give golfers a few extra rounds. With no big TV dates to watch golf we no longer have an excuse not to make it out onto the course or that early tee time. As a seasonal sport most fair weathered golfers tend to enjoy the late September months were you can still have the summer heat but not record breaking. So get out there and swing till your happy!

2011 PGA Championship Matchup

While Tiger figures out what putter he wants to use golf fans have already turned their heads from the WCG-Bridgestone Invitational to the final major of the year, the PGA Championship. Friday group pairings came out and the buzz in the golf world remained in tune to what players they wanted to watch. Among some of the most talked about groups includes Martin Kaymer defending PGA Champion and the group of this years major winners, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy, and Darren Clarke. To some the PGA Championship is the least likely major they will watch kind of the ugly stepsister of all the tournaments so to speak. The Masters has it’s beautiful allure, the U.S. Open is known for it’s difficulty, and the Open Championship is known for it’s tradition.

The 2010 PGA will be remembered more, though, for what happened to Dustin Johnson. Johnson had a one-shot lead playing the 18th hole in the final round when he drove it well right into a patch of sand where the gallery had been walking all week. But he grounded his club in one of the 1,000 or so bunkers that make up Whistling Straits and was later assessed a two-shot penalty that left him out of the playoff and into a tie for fifth place. This play will forever be known as bunkergate….sorry DJ

Is The Golf World Ready For Tiger To Be Back?

When Tiger announced his return to the golf world after nearly 3 months on hiatus and 2 years without a win, fans and players are speculating what will happen with this tournament. On a familiar course and a familiar stage Tiger has dominated the WGC-Bridgestone event ever since he started attending it. What many are referring to as only a warm up event he still has a lot riding on his performance. Whether or not people will believe he is back for good or merely just not working. The real test will be at next week’s PGA Championship which Tiger is already scheduled to play at.

In a press conference this morning only one question really tripped up Tiger and that was ” Do you think you were missed” I speechless Tiger could only come up with “I don’t know you tell me”. Not seeing a whole lot of confidence from one of the most noted players with egos to date. If anything at least he got  a new pair of kicks out of his return. Nike created a new prototype golf shoe for him with Nike Free technology. The shoe is basically designed to mimic the natural motion of the foot but still have the protection and traction you need out of a golf shoe. Who knows if they will have any effect on his playing but they sure look pretty awesome.

 

He’s Back, Tiger Woods Feels Fit and Ready To Play

Looks like Tiger Woods is back. He announced via his Twitter this evening that he will be playing at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational next week. He had up until Friday evening to decide and it looks like he had made up his mind. Saying he was “@TigerWoods Feeling fit and ready to tee it up at Firestone next week. Excited to get back out there!” Hopefully he is ready and healthy of course there will be lots of speculation if he is or not but looks like we will just have to wait until the tournament. The biggest question on everyones mind was …. Who will be carrying his bags? in an untimly departure from long time caddy and friend Steve Williams it’s speculated that childhood friend Bryon Bell will be carrying those sticks. I’ll update you if I find out anything else.

Most Forgiving Golf Clubs

What makes a forgiving golf club? This has been on my mind for a while now we are in the peak of the season and I need a little more forgiveness in my shots. By definition this means a club design element that sends the ball straight and long even when the ball is mis-stuck (aka cut, sliced, hooked, shanked). Opinion obviously varies on this but there are a few characteristics that seem to be the widely held view among the golfing community.

• Loft, the more loft the club has the more forgiveness you will find.
• An off set club will make up for a poor swing
• Perimeter weighting
• More weight down low on the sole of the club

Essentially what it comes down to is various centers of gravity affect the forgiveness as well as the moment of inertia. A club with a well placed center of gravity is more forgiving than a cavity back with haphazard one. I found this great article on game improving golf drivers for 2011. I think the definition is the same if the the club was designed to be forgiving it was also designed to improve a players game.

TV Guide To The Open Championship

Now that I already let you know what groups I will be watching here is the schedule for The Open Championship aka British Open 

6/14 Thursday 4AM-6PM ET ESPN
6/15 Friday 4AM-6PM ET ESPN
6/16 Saturday 7AM-2:30 PM ET ESPN
6/17 Sunday 6AM-1:30 PM ET ESPN