Tour News
Polara Golf signs John Daly as an ambassador
Wait for it.
Wait for it.
Well, John Daly never was one to conform.
Yes, that is the best I’ve got. A press release this week confirmed that John Daly has signed on to be an ambassador for golf brand Polara. The 47-year-old Daly, who has played many clubs throughout his storied career, will now add Polara Golf to that list.
Or will he? After all, Daly still does regularly suit up on the PGA and Web.com tours (he does, look it up!) and for those events he will not be allowed to use products from his new sponsor. Unfortunately, I’m not referring to Loudmouth pants, the “loud” attire that will have you adjusting the color dial on your television — that is if you still own a television that has dials, but where were we? Ah yes, illegal stuff. Polara Golf fancies itself as “the leader in game improvement equipment for the recreational golfer,” and actually makes golf balls and a driver that are both not conforming to the rules of the USGA and R&A.
I’m not going to criticize a company for making non-conforming equipment; Callaway famously did it in the past with the ERC 2 driver, a club that was so controversial it caused people to do the impossible — get mad at Arnold Palmer. And recently TaylorMade CEO Mark King has made comments in interviews hinting at his own support for bifurcation of the rules, leading to countless online debates about whether or not TaylorMade would actually produce non-conforming clubs.
[youtube id=”og9iCF6FtwI” width=”620″ height=”360″]
Well, Polara DOES in fact currently produce non-conforming equipment. It makes a ball that it claims can reduce your slice by up to 70 percent (watch it above), but oddly it don’t boast about fixing a hook, so I guess if you hook it you are out of luck. But anyway, the company claims to have the best slice-fixing balls on the market, which are “approved for the recreational golfer” unless his recreation is playing in USGA-sanctioned events.
Polara also makes a 475 cubic centimeter driver, which is over the USGA’s limit of 460 CCs. I do find it curious, however, that the company went with 475 CC’s. I mean, if you are going to stick it to the man, maybe do so by more than 3 percent. That’s barely even noticeably bigger. Why not make a 600 CC driver that you anchor to your gut?
So yes, you will not see John Daly using Polara golf equipment in tournaments, even if you aren’t temporarily blinded by his pants, which is why I suppose they use the key word “ambassador.” Times are changing, this being 2013 and all. There has been some backlash at the USGA for its handling of the groove rule (my beloved Eye2’s!), as well as the decision by golf’s ruling bodies to ban anchored putters in 2016.
Several defenders of the recreational golfer have suggested amateurs play a different game than the pros anyway, and I suppose that the message here Polara is trying to get across is:
You don’t play the same game as the pros, so don’t play the same equipment and don’t feel bad about it.
Only now, the company has a pro ambassador who believes they share the same “grip-it-and-rip-it” mantra as it does. Well that, or maybe Polara offered more money than say, Titliest. But who am I to speculate?
I doubt John Daly will be as criticized as Arnold Palmer was — times are a bit different and thoughts about bifurcation are a bit different. And frankly John Daly doesn’t have the same profile as the king did when he made that decision. But it is interesting to once again see a pro golfer publicly back a company that boasts about making non-conforming equipment.
Oh, and if you run into Daly on a public course and he offers to make a wager, don’t do it. He might hit a lot of fairways.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Players Championship
On the heels of Scottie Scheffler’s dominant victory at Bay Hill, the PGA Tour heads a little farther north in Florida to TPC Sawgrass this week for The Players Championship. And of course, GolfWRX is on site to get a look at what the players are playing.
We’ve already spotted a new Titleist mini driver this week, and there’s plenty more.
Check out our photos below!
Pullout Albums
- New Titleist 2 wood – 2024 The Players Championship
- Cam Young testing Titleist’s new 2-wood – 2024 THE PLAYERS Championship
- Hole Nos. 17 and 18 – 2024 THE PLAYERS Championship
- Toulon Small Batch Texas putter – 2024 The Players Championship
- Swag Golf custom headcovers – 2024 The Players Championship
- New Ping PLD staff bags – 2024 The Players Championship
- SuperStroke St. Patrick’s Day putter grip – 2024 The Players Championship
- Taylor Montgomery using PuttView X training goggles – 2024 The Players Championship
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
GolfWRX is on the ground in Orlando ahead of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
We’re assembling our usual collection of WITB photos, general galleries, and of course, gear inspired by the King himself.
We’ll continue to add to the photos below as more flow in from Florida.
General Albums
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #1
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #2
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #3
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1 (thanks, bvmagic!)
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #3 (bvmagic)
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2 (bvmagic)
WITB Albums
- Matt (LFG) Every – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Sahith Theegala – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Scottie Scheffler – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Luke List – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Taylor Moore – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- David Ford – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
Pullout Albums
- New Cameron putters (and new “LD” grip) – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New Bettinardi MB & CB irons – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Custom Bettinardi API putter cover – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Custom Swag API covers – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New Golf Pride Reverse Taper grips – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New PXG putters – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Scottie Scheffler putter change – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Sepp Straka – shaft change to new Ventus blue – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Rickie Fowler’s new Cobra Darkspeed X driver and Denali shaft (and Radspeed 3-wood) – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Justin Rose testing Srixon Z Forged II irons – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Cognizant Classic
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Cognizant Classic —FKA the Honda Classic.
The first leg of the PGA Tour’s traditional “Florida swing,” the Cognizant Classic continues to be contested at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, host course of the 1983 Ryder Cup and 1987 PGA Championship. The course is known for its famed “Bear Trap,” a three-hole stretch of holes that take their name from Jack “The Golden Bear” Nicklaus, who redesigned the course in 2002.
The Bear Trap includes No. 15 (a par 3), No. 16 (a par 4), and No. 17 (a par 4). All three holes involve water and have led to several big numbers from Tour players over the years.
Check out an assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums below.
We’ll continue to update the galleries as more photos flow in from Florida!
General Albums
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #3
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #4
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Tuesday #1
WITB Albums
- Brandt Snedeker – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Max Greyserman – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Eric Cole – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Carl Yuan – WITb – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Russell Henley – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Justin Suh – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Alex Noren – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Shane Lowry – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Taylor Montgomery – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Jake Knapp (KnappTime_ltd) – WITB – – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Sam Ryder – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Maverick McNealy – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Tua Tagovailoa mini WITB (NFL QB, Miami Dolphins) – 2024 Cognizant Classic
Pullout Albums
- New Super Stoke Pistol Lock 1.0 & 2.0 grips – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- LA Golf new insert putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- New Garsen Quad Tour 15 grip – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- New Swag covers – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Jacob Bridgeman’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Bud Cauley’s custom Cameron putters – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Ryo Hisatsune’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Chris Kirk – new black Callaway Apex CB irons and a few Odyssey putters
- Alejandro Tosti’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Joohyung Tom Kim’s “new” center-shafted Scotty Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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donald davis
Jun 21, 2013 at 1:06 am
John Daly.The ultimate tour whore. Pathetic,drunken fool. Unfortunately I am a fan. What does that say about me?
Mat
Jun 20, 2013 at 8:30 pm
There will never be club bifurcation; the merchandise business is too important. The ball, on the other hand… if you made the pros play 80-compression balls, we wouldn’t be talking about all of these stupid course altering conversations. At that point, we can all start enjoying golf. Play whatever ball you want, but if it’s a competitive deal, have a clear limit. Enough with balls that are missiles; the USGA should have never allowed the Pro V1, and we’re all paying for it – literally and figuratively.
JHM
Jun 21, 2013 at 1:30 pm
“There will never be club bifurcation” – can you tell me at which Golfsmith, Golf Galexy or other retailer I can pick up an R1 like Dustin Johnson’s or a 2 wood like Phil’s? Bifurcation already exist, it’s just not thru the rules its thru the manufactures making tour only equipment.