Old – It’s an old story by now: Sergio can’t putt anymore to close the deal. Today, he closed the deal the hard way. Finally, he tamed his putter and struck crisp, accurate shots from tee to green. Then, Sergio took firm advantage on the first playoff hole with a masterful shot after Paul Goydos’s ball sank into the infamous depths around the 17th island green.

New – Nationwide rookie Colt Knost won his first tournament of the 2008 season today, the Fort Smith Classic Presented by Stephens, Inc. Darron Stiles held the lead on the front nine, but Knost’s four bridies and one bogey on the back nine were enough for the exciting one-shot victory that came right down to the wire.

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Despite regularly being the most common wood shaft at U.S. Tour events, Aldila shafts just don’t seem to have the mystique associated with shafts from competitors like Matrix or Mitsubishi.

The NV, DVS and VS Proto shafts are amongst the most played shafts at todays events but somehow they seem to be ‘blue collar’ shafts rather than the high performance Tour pedigree shafts that they really are. Aldila are looking to change this perception with their upcoming VooDoo shaft.

While not being available to the public until the end of July, the Voodoo has been available on Tour since earlier this year. In this short time, it has already found its way into the winner’s circle twice: in March at the World Golf Championships-CA and last month at the Verizon Heritage. A striking achievement for such a new product and one that has certainly raised a fair amount of interest.

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Shaker Run Golf Course, site of the 2005 US Amateur Public Links, is located North of Cincinnati, Ohio in the small  town of Lebanon.

This Public Links Championship was heavily watched; Michelle Wie made it to the final four here before Clay Ogden beat her in a hotly contested match play match. Unfortunately for Michelle Wie, Clay went on to win the championship. Even before Michelle Wie arrived at Shaker Run, this golf course was kown as one of Ohio’s best public golf courses.

In its infancy (1979), Shaker Run was a private club and owned by the ARMCO Steel Company. Eventually ARMCO became AK steel, sold some assets off, the private golf club being one of them (1994). Great for us. Shaker Run actually boasts 27 holes now as there is a third nine designed by Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry in 1997.

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Sergio Garcia, the 28 year-old Spaniard jumped out to a two stroke lead in Ponte Vedra Beach Florida on Thursday at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Garcia had an early tee time and was able to capitalize on a combination of receptive greens, more accessible pin positions, and no wind. Sergio has done very well at The Players Championship; having shot 17 under par through his last three rounds going back to last year. This is definitely one of my favorite courses, so it’s always nice to go back to a place where you’ve done well and you feel comfortable," said Garcia. "You know, I’m just looking forward to keep doing the same things, keep hitting the ball well, keep chipping well and keep putting well and then hopefully by the end of the week, we’ll be where we are supposed to be."

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Loathed by those who play it for being unforgiving, No. 17 is loved by those who watch it for that same attribute. Its ability to put professional golfers in a situation we are all far too familiar with, drop two hit three, has created a compelling allure among PGA tour fans. With a hint of irony, the signature hole on a course famed for its strategic layout is penal in design. 

Together, Pete and Alice Dye have created the most iconic hole on the PGA Tour. The Stadium Course at Sawgrass, commended by many as one of the best examples of a risk-reward golf course is as strong a statement in strategic design as it is a test of players’ mental will. Yet the 146 yard, born by accident, par three has received its share of criticisms, especially from architects. 

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Titleist has done some drastic spring cleaning. They’ve swept out all of their resident iron designs and restocked with four brand-new ones, three forged and one cast. The lone cast model is the AP1.

Technology

What’s New? For Titleist, just about everything. This reminds me of the ad that appeared in the Washington Post in the 1960’s, I think. The ad stated: “President Abraham Lincoln’s axe up for sale. Handle was replaced 40 years ago. Head was replaced 32 years ago. Best offer!”

So are these all-new irons truly Titleists? In my opinion, the AP1 irons represent what a traditional clubmaker can do when it takes advantage of technology to help the largest possible number of golfers enjoy the game even more. This certainly is a big change for Titleist, but the market has changed, as well.

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The nine hole golf course. Never enough, yet at times too much.

More often than not many nine hole golf courses are goat paths and almost not worthy of anyone’s hard earned golfing dollar. Believe me, I have seen my fair share of these types of golf courses.

However, this is not to say that all nine hole golf courses are not worthy of our play, after all, golf is golf. One such nine hole course definitely worthy of mentioning is Wyoming Country Club located in Wyoming, Ohio (near Cincinnati. 

Wyoming Country Club is neatly tucked into an older, yet upscale and very well established bedroom community.  I was recently afforded the opportunity to play a round here and I jumped at the chance. This course is not long by today’s design standards, but I have always felt that length should never be a defining factor in golf course design.

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