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GolfWRX Morning 9: Tigermania redux | RIP Don Cherry | Best golf podcasts

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6 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

August 22, 2018

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.
1. Tigermania redux
I received an email from a reader yesterday saying he thought the “too much Tiger” in the subject line might refer to excessive coverage of Woods, particularly on T.V. Unfortunately for the reader, given the synthesis of Woods’ strong play and massive ratings bumps, it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing less of TW on screen in the near future.
Outside the ropes, fan enthusiasm for Woods is at a fevered pitch, as Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard writes.
  • “Since Woods embarked on this most recent comeback from injury, the sense of excitement has steadily built. What began as a curiosity now looks like certainty.”
  • “Woods has repeatedly explained the 2018 season was always going to be filled with more questions than answers. He didn’t know how his repaired back would hold up under the pressure of competition or what swing he would have.”
  • “Fan didn’t know which Tiger would arrive on the first tee each week – Vintage Woods or the often-injured guy who managed to play just 19 events the last four years.”
  • As Woods progressed, the answer seemed to be the former, with Tiger electrifying fans at the Valspar Championship on his way to a tie for second place.
  • “This entire year has been so different,” Woods said on Tuesday at The Northern Trust, his first playoff start since 2013. “I’ve had excitement. I’ve had people into it over the years, but this has been so different. We go back to how everyone received me at Tampa, that was very special and I had not received ovations and warmth like that.”
  • “Woods tied for fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and fourth at the Quicken Loans National. Despite Tiger’s regular calls for patience and perspective, a fan base that was reluctant to dive back in with a self-described medical miracle is now wading into the deep end.”
  • “This zeal has built to a crescendo, with the PGA Championship emerging as the new raucous standard.”
2. Speaketh the Tiger
A few morsels from his comments ahead of the Northern Trust.
  • “I think that people are more, I guess, appreciative…I don’t want to make that sound wrong or anything, but they know I’m at the tail end of my career. I don’t know how many more years I have left. But I’m certainly not like I was when I was 22. At 42, it’s a different ballgame.”
  • “I’ve become a little bit more mobile than I was the beginning of the year…My swing has evolved and it’s gotten more consistent. I think it will continue to get that way.”
  • “As I’ve said before, this has been a blessing…It’s been so special to have this opportunity again. I’m certainly not taking it for granted.”
3. Tinkereth the Tiger
Woods swapped out the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 70TX he’s been gaming for much of the year.
  • WRX staff report...”after a dismal driving performance at the 2018 PGA Championship – where he finished second place despite missing every single fairway during the front nine of his final round, and the infamous 17th hole tee shot that he blew right right of a hazard – it appears Tiger is considering switching up his driver shaft.”
  • “On Tuesday of The Northern Trust at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, NJ, Tiger was spotted using a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White Board shaft in his driver, instead of the counter-balanced Tensei Orange he’s been accustomed to in 2018. The last time Tiger played in competition with a Diamana White Board? According to our records, it was back in 2014; that’s before the Tensei Orange, the Tensei White, the Matrix TP7HDe, and the Diamana Blue Board. Back in 2013-2014, Tiger was playing a Diamana White Board 73X.”
  • “According to our Tour photographer Greg Moore, Tiger has also added 1 degree of loft to his driver, in addition to sliding the M3 dual weights forward compared to their position at the 2018 PGA Championship.”
4. RIP Don Cherry
One of the most unique strands woven into the tapestry of golf history, Don Cherry has died. From his New York Times obit…”Don Cherry, a leading pop singer of the 1950s who performed at clubs and hotels by night while becoming one of America’s top amateur golfers by day, died on April 4 at a hospice in Las Vegas. He was 94.”
  • “Mr. Cherry won many small amateur golf tournaments in Texas after serving stateside in the Army Air Forces in World War II, then captured the 1953 Canadian Amateur Championship. He also played on three victorious Walker Cup teams (1953, 1955 and 1961), in a tournament that matches the United States against Britain and Ireland in the amateur version of the Ryder Cup. He was a contender as an amateur into the fourth round of the 1960 United States Open, at Cherry Hills in suburban Denver, finishing in a three-way tie for ninth at even par, four strokes back of Arnold Palmer.Palmer had famously rallied to win from seven strokes behind the leader in the final round.”
  • “Mr. Cherry played in many Masters and United States Opens, but apart from his 1960 run, he did not finish among the top competitors. He turned pro in 1962.”
Can you imagine a similar story today?
5. PGA Tour ROY race
PGATour.com’s Sean Martin writes we’re looking at a two-horse gallop.
  • “These are the two top contenders for the PGA TOUR’s Rookie of the Year Award: Austin Cook and Aaron Wise….Cook was a solid player in his four seasons at the University of Arkansas, but he had to hit the road to play mini-tours and earn his first PGA TOUR starts the hard way.”
  • “Medical school was his backup plan if the pro golf career didn’t pan out. He didn’t need it, though. Cook cobbled together a schedule on the Web.com Tour and PGA TOUR through qualifiers and sponsor exemptions. He was still carrying a stand bag and using his Arkansas rain gear when he played with Phil Mickelson in the final group of the Houston Open’s third round. Cook, who beat Mickelson by five that day, qualified for five TOUR events in 2014 and 2015.”
  • “He failed to earn a TOUR card at the 2015 Web.com Tour Finals, though. A year later, he was on the cusp of graduating before a hurricane canceled the Web.com Tour Championship. He finally earned it last year.”
  • “His TOUR card was worth the wait, though. Cook, 27, won The RSM Classic in the fourth start of his rookie season.”
  • “Wise was a pre-law major at Oregon and enjoyed academics, but his game ascended even more rapidly than even he could have expected, so he turned pro after winning the 2016 NCAA Championship as a sophomore. He has won on three different tours – the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, Web.com Tour and PGA TOUR — in his three pro seasons.”
  • “Wise, 22, burst into the spotlight in back-to-back starts this May. He was runner-up to Jason Day at the Wells Fargo Championship before putting on a ball-striking clinic at the AT&T Byron Nelson.”
6. Best golf podcasts?
I took a highly subjective climb up Mt. Golf Podcast to round up 21 of the best podcasts in golf–and given said subjectivity, I encourage you to check out the comments for additional quality recommendations.
Here’s a sampling of my picks.
  • No Laying Up: From Twitterers with day jobs to an upstart media outlet, NLU’s podcast was the tool that led to the merch, the features, and Soly, Tron and company’s other efforts. If you’re unfamiliar, start with the most recent episode (Justin Thomas) and work your way backward. You won’t regret it.
  • The Fried Egg Golf: Andy Johnson has become a force and a voice in the world of golf media in a very short period of time. While he and his guests do good work in discussing the pro game, Andy’s forte is golf course architecture, and he cooks up architecture discussions better than anyone in the podcast universe right now.
  • Fore Play: Honestly, the iTunes description for Barstool’s golf pod is pretty good: “Trent, Riggs and their wide variety of guests talk about everything golf like normal folks sitting at a bar watching coverage, venting about the game’s difficulties, and weighing in on pro gossip. Your classic golf addicts, the “Fore Play” crew brings a young, unique voice to the rapidly-evolving game, discussing freely and openly everything golf.” Pretty much sums it up.(warning: explicit).
  • The Clubhouse with Shane Bacon: Mr. Salt-Cured Pork has had something of a come up, hasn’t he? The Fox hosting duties and more are well earned, as Bacon is a strong voice, and his network affiliation ensures a quality roster of guests.
  • ShackHouse: Geoff Shackelford joins forces with “podcast personality” per the iTunes description, Joe House to “break down the biggest golf stories, interview some of the biggest personalities in the game.” Really, this show is all about Shack’s singular perspective.
7. Eisenhower cabin renovation?
Per Alex Myers...”In the past couple years, Augusta National has created the most-talked-about media center and merchandise shop in golf. But now the club is focused on giving one of its most famous landmarks a facelift.According to the Augusta Chronicle, the club’s Eisenhower Cabin is undergoing a renovation.”
  • “The historic structure near the course’s 10th tee and practice green was originally built for President Dwight Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, in 1953. It is one of 10 cabins on the property, but is the largest with three floors, including a basement that used to house Secret Service members. It’s also the only cabin with a gold presidential seal hanging over the front porch.”
Maybe they’re putting in a hot tub?
8. 59! or 59.
Geoff Shackelford is running an interesting poll on his blog, asking readers if golf’s magic number is, well, less magical..
  • He writes: “I was at a golf course snack bar when the Golf Channel was showing highlights from Brandt Snedeker’s 59 at the Wyndham Championship. It was the 10th such round in PGA Tour history and when some golfers looked up and asked if he’d shot 59, I said yes and they went, “ah that’s great” and then went about decorating their hot dogs.”
  • “A decade ago, I’m pretty sure we all would have stopped what we were doing to watch all of the highlights and regale in the history playing out before our eyes…Throw in a 58 by Jim Furyk and it seems like the 59 has gone from golf’s equivalent of a perfect game to a no-hitter. Still an amazing feat and worth dropping what we’re doing to see a player break the barrier, but also not quite as satisfying as it should be.”
60 percent of Shack’s readers voted for “they are no longer as incredible as they first seemed.”
9. Nice sticks
Hooked on Golf’s Tony Korologos spotted a New York Post article from earlier this month discussing an uptick in golf equipment sales…safe to say, the uptick didn’t include any of the equipment in the chosen stock photo (below)
  • Tony writes…”Good news and bad news in the golf equipment industry.  The good news is that golf equipment sales are up eight percent! Woot!…The bad news is that golfers can only use eight clubs which were manufactured in about 2005, all graphite shafted. To make things even worse, there are no putters or head covers allowed.”
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2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Paul

    Aug 22, 2018 at 4:50 pm

    You made Canadians have a heart attack with that Don Cherry headline

    Reply Report comment

  2. lco21

    Aug 22, 2018 at 11:16 am

    Number 9 is very confusing.

    Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter

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5 hours ago

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May 9, 2024

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Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.

This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.

Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.

The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.

Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.

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Equipment

Rickie Fowler’s new putter: Standard-length Odyssey Jailbird 380 in custom orange

Published

1 day ago

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May 8, 2024

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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article. 

…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.

Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.

Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.

Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.

According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.

He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.

Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article. 

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Equipment

Details on Justin Thomas’ driver switch at the Wells Fargo Championship

Published

1 day ago

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May 8, 2024

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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article. 

So, with a couple of weeks off following his latest start at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Thomas sought to re-address his driver setup with the remote help of Titleist Tour fitting expert J.J. Van Wezenbeeck. About two weeks ago, Thomas and Van Wezenbeeck reviewed his recent driver stats, and discussed via phone call some possible driver and shaft combinations for him to try.

After receiving Van Wezenbeeck’s personalized shipment of product options while at home, Thomas found significant performance improvements with Titleist’s TSR2 head, equipped with Thomas’ familiar Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX shaft.

Compared to Thomas’ longtime TSR3 model, the TSR2 has a larger footprint and offers slightly higher spin and launch characteristics.

According to Van Wezenbeeck, Thomas has picked up about 2-3 mph of ball speed, to go along with 1.5 degrees higher launch and more predictable mishits.

“I’d say I’d been driving it fine, not driving it great, so I just wanted to, honestly, just test or try some stuff,” Thomas said on Tuesday in an interview with GolfWRX.com at Quail Hollow Club. “I had used that style of head a couple years ago (Thomas used a TSi2 driver around 2021); I know it’s supposed to have a little more spin. Obviously, yeah, I’d love to hit it further, but if I can get a little more spin and have my mishits be a little more consistent, I felt like obviously that’d be better for my driving…

“This (TSR2) has been great. I’ve really, really driven it well the week I’ve used it. Just hitting it more solid, I don’t know if it’s the look of it or what it is, but just a little bit more consistent with the spin numbers. Less knuckle-ball curves. It has been fast. Maybe just a little faster than what I was using. Maybe it could be something with the bigger head, maybe mentally it looks more forgiving.”

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article. 

 

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