With the 2007 golf season basically wrapped up and looking forward to 2008, and the new season I cannot help but think about what to expect in the coming year. Here are some predictions as to what I think might happen in 2008.
I can’t wait for 2008 to start. It is going to be a great year and if any of what I said comes true I will be totally amazed, as I am the furthest thing from a psychic. Like the rest of you I love golf, and this is my way to get through the off season thinking about the next year and all of the headlines that will become the water cooler talk of the year coming. I wish you all a happy and healty holiday season.
- FedEx Cup – It will be better than the first version, but some more underlying issues will surface and more refinement will be required to make it the season ending event that the PGA tour is hoping for. Would love to see 10 million in cash on a table behind 18 green, just like the World Series of Poker.
- PGA Tour – Look for another great year of golf on the PGA Tour. There are emerging talents, young and old as well as a very strong international contingent, all helping to make the competition as strong as it has been, arguably in the history of the game. Tiger will have another great year; the big question is who will challenge him? Phil? Ernie? Vijay? Or some new up and comer, maybe Jason Day?
- LPGA Tour – Look for a continuation of the late year battle between Ochoa and Petterson. It is shaping up to be a rivalry that the LPGA Tour needs, and if you can throw Pressel, Gulbis, Creamer, Stacy P, Lincicome, and Annika (if she can return to her dominant form) in the mix, that would be a recipe for some great tournaments, majors, and awesome competition to look forward to in ‘08. Ladies golf will continue to grow and become even more popular than in’ 07.
- Drivers – Look for more MOI. Square drivers have seemed to pass the litmus test and are being accepted and used by more and more golfers. I also would not be surprised if we see more in play on tour this year. Just like when the first 400 CC drivers came out and were looked down upon, the square driver was ugly initially and now is gaining acceptance, due in part to its excellent performance and technology. A driver tends to look a lot better when you are in the fairway all day, regardless if it looks like gopher masher.
- Putters – Just like drivers, ugly putters tend to stick around if they perform and win on the tours, and there will always be a place in the market for the classic designs. Look for more exotic inserts, materials, graphite shafts and shaft options, wild color grips, crazy head covers, and flashy designs. The emergence of boutique putter companies that offer custom “tour quality” putters for a fraction of the price will continue to prosper. Why spend 3 hundy on a production putter when you can spend close to the same and get a putter that fits you, your stroke, and setup, get a few stamps on there, your initials, and maybe “Proto” or “Hand Made”, pretty cool if you ask me. Tour treatment for a fraction of the price.
- Wedges – Aside from the emergence of the custom wedge market with companies like Chikara, and Scratch, there is not much to report here. There are rumors of a Vokey custom shop that if true, will be huge and I am sure people will be going crazy like with the Cameron Custom Shop. There are some great options out there in the wedge department, and now you have the high end custom wedge market emerging as well. Great time to be in the market for some new wedges.
- Irons – Nothing super new to report here. You will have your normal influx of new game improvement irons and some forged cavity backs and blades for the better players. Same stuff new year, just with some new colors, badges, and slightly modified designs.
- John Daly – I sure hope that he gets his game in shape this year. JD is one of the good guys, although he comes with some demons. He means well, does a ton for charity, but can be a train wreck at times. I see a big year for JD, maybe even a victory. Keep after it my man, I am pulling for you.
- Tiger Woods – 2 majors, 6 tour wins, and 1 world golf championship. That should be a stock year for the world’s number 1. He is playing what he is required to play in. His life is in order, his priorities are in order, and he played some really amazing golf this past year. Why would 2008 be any different? Maybe Jason Day will change that? (sorry could not resist)
- Q School Grads – Tommy Gainey, is he going to cash in on the Big Break that he earned himself? Looked great in Q school, wish him the best and hope he has a good solid year. Lickliter should have a good year as well. He pretty much dominated the Q School the first three rounds then cruised to victory. He will get into a ton of events and if he plays like he did there, he might even win one. Great playing by a great guy.
- Majors – Tiger will win the US Open, and the PGA. Ernie Els will win the Masters, and the Open Championship is going to Sergio Garcia.
- Senior Tour – Look for Fred Funk, Loren Roberts, and Jay Haas to continue to do big things on the Senior Tour. Nick Price will regain his form and show why he used to be the best player in the world.
- USGA – Allowing the interchangeability of shafts. Amended to allow forms of adjustability other than weight adjustment. Cool idea and opens up the flood gates for fitting options. Shaft companies are super excited as now people can just have a few different shafts for the driver head that they like.
- Who to look out for in 2008 – Tiger Woods, what kind year will he have? Morgan Pressel, US Open is hers, a make up for the random hole out last year. Zach Johnson, can he follow up the Masters victory with another major? Lorena Ochoa, is she ready to dominate like Annika? Jason Day, can he back up his talk? Rory Sabatini, will he have another monster year, and continue to get Tiger fired up? Tim Finchem, did he do enough to fix the Fed Ex Cup? Ernie Els, can he return to the winners circle and challenge Tiger? Nick Flanagan, he dominated the Nationwide and earned a battlefield promotion, can he do the same on the big tour? Phil Mickelson, what can we expect from Butch’s new star pupil? Vijay, is he done chasing Tiger? Suzanne Peterson, can she follow up her break out season?
Hm – I appreciate that this is an American article but even still I am a little perturbed by it’s it’s one-dimensional focus on golf for the coming year. I’d say look out for Justin Rose who has had a superb end of season having spent much of the year on the sidelines with back trouble. As for Q school, there’s a young lad called McIlroy who featured at the Open and qualified for the European Tour by winning enough cash in his first four invitational tournaments after turning pro. He didn’t even have to appear at q school! Finally I notice there is no mention of the Ryder Cup – easy prediction that one I reckon – Europe!
Appreciate the comments, and as I said in the first paragraph these are “my predictions” and I am not going to be able to fit everything in this article.
Point 1: Causing you to be perturbed by my one dimensional focus. I apologize if I did not include enough european mentions in there. Justin Rose had a great year and he could do big things this year. I did give Sergio the Open, and Ernie Els the Masters. Did you overlook that part?
Point 2: Rory McIlroy. Great young talent. Did not have a section in there about the European tour, as I don’t really know that much about it or the players on the circuit. Coverage for that tour is rather lacking here in the states. I wish him the best and I hope that he does great. Did he go through the PGA Tour’s Q School? Oh yeah maybe that is why I did not mention him in that section.
Point 3: Ryder Cup. Going to be a great event, and I wish Europe the best. I hope that the competition is strong and a fun event to watch. I did not have enough time to do research on the Ryder Cup for this year and come up with a prediction.
If you feel that my article did not cover enough of the bases, feel free to write one on your own and then I can pick apart your article for what you failed to include in “your” predictions.
Cheers,
DG