News

Masters special: When amateur Rick Fehr had zero 3-putts

Published

8 months ago

Apr 6, 2023

Rick Fehr attended and competed for Brigham Young University and played in the Masters as an amateur in 1983 and 1984. In 1984, Fehr made the cut by three shots, posting 72 and 71. He followed those rounds with 70 on Saturday, and closed with 75 on Sunday. He finished in a tie for 25th place with five other golfers. He was one of three amateurs to make the cut that year. The most astonishing data point from Rick Fehr’s 1984 Masters was this: he went 72 holes without a three-putt green.

Fehr has been a professional golf teacher for the past 20 years. After winning twice on the PGA Tour, he transitioned to golf instruction. In addition to his low amateur prize at the Masters in 1984, he was low amateur that year at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

Mr. Fehr was generous with his time and gave us some insight on precisely how someone navigates each Augusta National green four times, in the heat of competition, and comes away with zero three-putts.

1984 low amateur prize and no-three-putts putter. Photo courtesy of Rick Fehr.

GolfWRX: Which accomplishments earned you an invitation to the 1983 and 1984 Masters tournaments?

Fehr: My invitation to the 1983 tournament was for being a semi-finalist in the 1982 U.S. Amateur and my invitation to play in 1984 was for being a member of the 1983 Walker Cup team.
(of course, those exemption categories no longer exist. I was fortunate)

GolfWRX: Talk us through your acclimatization process with Augusta National. There’s no other golf course like it, or is there? Did you use a club caddie each year? Was it the same caddie both years?

Fehr: I did use a club caddie both years. College players and amateurs don’t normally have a caddie in other tournaments, so it was an adjustment. Despite his familiarity with the greens, I chose to read them on my own.

GolfWRX: Tell us about the specs of the putter that you used in 1984. Had you used it for a period of time, or was it a relatively new club in your bag?

Fehr: 35-inch Ping Anser 2. I had used it for a few years prior to the ’84 Masters.

GolfWRX: Were you a reverse-overlap grip guy, a left-hand low, or something else? How did you settle on that connection with the club?

Fehr: I used the reverse-overlap, and still do. Honestly, nearly everyone used that connection with the club unless they were fighting the yips.

Photo courtesy of Rick Fehr.

GolfWRX: I know that Tiger Woods recently said that he could not replicate his famous chip-in at 16, as the green has been adjusted. We assume that to be the case with many of the putting surfaces. Which greens at Augusta National were the toughest to read and putt during your years?

Fehr: The fifth green seemed to present the most challenging long putts in addition to presenting the most challenging approach shots.

GolfWRX: I was a freshman in college during the 1984 Masters. I followed all the top amateurs, and I remember your game having zero weaknesses. Do you think that the zero-three-putts achievement was a result of extraordinary approach play, or was it also the best putting week of your life?

Fehr: Excellent question. My iron play was on point that week, which is often underrated in importance at Augusta. That was certainly key in avoiding three-putts, for sure. That said, I made a bunch of 6-10 footers for two-putts.

GolfWRX: Did you have a pre-putt routine that you utilized during that period? Did you read putts from all sides, or did one angle tend to dominate for you? What were your mental/physical keys for your putting?

Fehr: Most often, I would take a look midway between the hole and my ball to get a good look at the slope (uphill/downhill), and then a look from behind the ball to find my line. I maintained my “vision” of where the ball was to travel to the hole and executed prior to losing the picture in my mind.

GolfWRX: Were you aware that you had such a run going, or did you only realize after the fact? Did you figure it out yourself, or did someone else bring it to light?

Fehr: Like so often was the case back then, my father (Jerry) brought it to my attention.

GolfWRX: What question haven’t I asked, about 72 holes of exquisite putting, that I should have asked? Please ask it and answer it.

Fehr: Was putting always a strength of your game? Yes. I went on to lead the PGA Tour putting statistic later in my career and felt as if I was always one of the best of my era. It all started with putting competitions with my junior golfing friends at my home course in Seattle.

Photo courtesy of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association

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Equipment

Driver, shaft combinations of strokes gained: off-the-tee leaders

Published

1 day ago

Dec 1, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

‘Tis the season for, well, looking back at the previous golf season. Hopefully, you’re still able to put a peg in the ground where you live.

However, if you find yourself stuck on the couch, staring longingly at your clubs in the corner as they begin their period of forced hibernation, we’re here to offer you an always enjoyable (we hope) diversion: a look at the equipment of some of the best golfers in the game this past season.

More specifically, we’re taking a look at the driver head and shaft combinations of the best drivers of the golf ball on the PGA Tour (as measured by their strokes gained: off-the-tee metric) for the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season.

Let’s get to it.

10. Hayden Buckley: 0.611

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees)

Shaft: UST Mamiya Lin Q M40X Blue 6F5

9. Luke List

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana DF 70 TX

8. Viktor Hovland: 0.741

Driver: Ping G425 LST (9 degrees @8.4)

Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 661 TR X (45.75 inches, tipped 1 inch)

7. Keith Mitchell: 0.743

Driver: Mizuno ST-Z 230 (9.5 degrees)

Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5

6. Kevin Yu: 0.803

Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond

Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White 80 TX

5. Brent Grant: 0.806

Driver: Srixon ZX7 Mk II (8.5 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Black 75 TX

4. Patrick Cantlay: 0.852

Driver: Titleist TS3 (9.5 @8.75 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX

3. Rory McIlroy: 0.907

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (9 degrees @7.5)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

*McIlroy switched into TaylorMade’s Qi10 LS driver at the DP World Tour Championship.

2. Ludvig Åberg: 0.982

Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

1. Scottie Scheffler: 1.021

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (8 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

*Scheffler switched into TaylorMade’s Qi10 LS driver at the Hero World Challenge.

There you have it, GolfWRXers. We’ll be back with more pieces of this nature as we X out the days in December.

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News

Morning 9: Tiger plays 9 holes at Pro-Am | Goodbye PIP bonuses? | Morikawa on coach split

Published

3 days ago

Nov 30, 2023

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the Hero World Challenge gets underway.

1. Woods (only) plays 9-hole pro-am (but don’t assume that’s a bad thing)

Golfweek’s Adam Schupak…”What Tiger Woods says goes at the Hero World Challenge.”

“And Wednesday morning, Woods determined that nine holes – not the 18 that the rest of the field played – was sufficient for him at the pro-am portion at Albany Golf Club.”

“Don’t read too much into it. His latest comeback isn’t being derailed by another setback – although with Tiger you can never know for sure. Rather, to borrow a phrase from the pandemic, Woods is taking an abundance of caution and “wants to save himself for the next four days,” business manager Rob McNamara, who will serve as his caddie this week, said.”

Full piece.

2. Goodbye, PIP bonuses?

Adam Wells for Bleacher Report…”Jordan Spieth thinks one of the key changes the PGA Tour made in an attempt to prevent players from joining LIV Golf will go away if the merger between the two companies goes through.”

“Speaking to reporters on Wednesday from the site of the Hero World Challenge, Spieth explained the Player Impact Program will likely go away at some point.”

“I think that its goal was to help prevent players from accepting high-dollar Saudi offers, LIV offers,” Spieth said. “I think that’s the goal. If you’re going to see numbers that are thrown out at players now, a couple specific players, it doesn’t really do that.”

Full piece.

3. Morikawa on coach split

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Collin Morikawa has parted ways with his longtime coach. Rick Sessinghaus, who he had worked with for over 18 years.”

“The 26-year-old revealed the news on Tuesday at the Hero World Challenge, sharing with reporters that the split took place just before this year’s Ryder Cup in Rome.”

“Right before the Ryder Cup, I let go of my long-time coach, Rick Sessinghaus for — we’ve been working for just over 18 years, which wasn’t easy,” Morikawa shared for the first time publicly on Tuesday during a press conference ahead of the Hero World Challenge, a 20-man unofficial event held at the Albany Club. “He’s more than just a coach, he’s one of my really good friends. He’s someone I’ve always looked up to, someone that’s been there for every step of my life essentially, not just in golf but just kind of living life, right?

“It wasn’t easy, and sometimes things happen like that. But 18 years is a long time. Not many relationships that I can say with a lot of people that I’ve had relationships for 18 years, and real relationships where I’m talking to them every week, right? So that wasn’t easy at all.”

“As for the reasoning behind the decision, Morikawa stated that “what I saw kind of over the past two years wasn’t to my expectations.”

Full piece.

4. Zalatoris on surgery, recovery

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”A couple days after his Masters withdrawal, Zalatoris was undergoing a microdiscectomy…”

“Zalatoris makes his competitive return at this week’s Hero World Challenge, his first start since the WGC-Dell Match Play in March, after a long and prudent path back from the disabled list.”

“It’s been an interesting seven months,” Zalatoris said. “It’s been a patience game. It’s been a grind. You know, I had a lot of really good advice from guys that have had to go through the same thing, and all of them said take your time, no one’s ever come back from an injury taking too long.”

“Zalatoris believes his back troubles stem from a shot he hit from the thick fescue during his first round of the 2021 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s, where he withdrew after 18 holes. His “hyperdynamic” golf swing – left heel coming off the ground, huge reverse-C, lots of X-factor – didn’t help matters, either. When Zalatoris re-injured his back at the BMW, though, Zalatoris’ surgeon, Michael Duffy at Texas Back Institute, didn’t recommended surgery at the time. Neither did the over 20 other specialists who reviewed Zalatoris’ MRI results.”

Full piece.

5. Spieth on joining policy board

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Spieth understood that position – he has two children under the age of 3, while also trying to return to the top 10 in the world rankings – but was eager to step up. On a phone call, he said he told fellow board member Patrick Cantlay that he could fill the role, if the others supported that.”

“I think this is a pivotal moment in time for professional golf and the PGA Tour,” Spieth said, “and I felt like I could be of help.”

“Since officially joining as the sixth board member, Spieth said he’s been “playing a bit of catch-up on what I’ve missed,” with the Tour not only negotiating with the PIF ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline, but also engaging with private equity firms looking to invest in the Tour.”

“There’s nothing but optimism among the player directors,” he said. “Collectively, we feel that we’re going to get something done that’s great for our Tour, and hopefully done by the same deadline that we’ve been trying to.”

Full Piece.

6. Shane Ryan: Appreciate Tiger while you can

Golf Digest’s Shane Ryan…”Point being, I spent a large part of Tiger’s prime missing the point of what I was seeing and was forced to spend his resurgence in the digital fetal position. Now, in his state of fading, I have to clutch what I can clutch, here at the last minute, and though I never quite grasped what we had in him, I can now see clearly what we’re going to lose. It’s a thing you can’t replace, and that makes everyone in his shadow look like a pretender.”

“It’s a thing called human greatness. Divorced from the complications of personality, behavior, culture, and capital. Plain, undeniable, and human greatness. The time may be coming when technology strips human greatness of its place atop the hierarchy, when we’re no longer, even in our own minds, the most important beings in the universe. The time is definitely coming when the greatest golfer of all time will have lost the last glow of his prime, and we can no longer credibly claim even a wisp of athletic relevancy on his behalf. We will be forced to interact with younger sports fans who know him only as a name, the way you and I might know someone like Bjorn Borg today. He is fading, and there’s nothing we can do about it because we’re fading too.”

“With Tiger Woods, we’re standing on the edge of permanence. The ephemeral part was his glory; the eternal part is its absence. This week, and whatever weeks are left, hold on.”

Full Piece.

7. Primer: LPGA Q-Series

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…”An abbreviated LPGA Q-Series gets underway on Thursday at Robert Trent Jones’ Magnolia Grove Golf Course in Mobile, Alabama. The event, which has been shortened from 144 holes to 108 holes, concludes on Dec. 5.”

“A field of 104 players will compete over the Falls and Crossings courses, with a cut after Round 4 to low 65 and ties. Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Hae Ran Ryu medaled at the 2022 Q-Series.”

“Players who finish in the top 45 and ties will earn 2024 LPGA cards. Those who finish in the top 20 and ties will earn the Category 14 status while those who are 21-45 and ties will fall into Category 15.”

“Any player who completes 72 holes will receive Epson Tour status.”

Full Piece.

8. Inbee Park in line to represent athletes at Olympics

AP report…”Seven-time Olympic champion sprinter Allyson Felix and seven-time golf major winner Inbee Park are candidates in elections at the Paris Games to represent their fellow athletes at the IOC.”

“The International Olympic Committee announced a list of 32 candidates Wednesday for elections to be held during the Paris Games from July 26-Aug. 11, when about 10,500 athletes are eligible to vote.”

“Felix, the now-retired American track great, and Park, who took gold for South Korea when golf returned to the Olympics in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, are among a slew of Olympic champions competing for four places in the 100-strong IOC membership.”

Full Piece.

9. Tiger Woods WITB: Hero World Challenge

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS

Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 6 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Titanium (15 degrees @14.25)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade M3 (19 degrees @18.25)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Irons: 2023 TaylorMade P770 (3-iron), TaylorMade P7TW (4-PW)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 Raw (56-12TW, 60-11TW)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype

Grip: Ping PP58

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord 58R

Full WITB.

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News

Morning 9: Tiger on his health and game | Donald named Ryder Cup 2025 captain | Tiger’s caddie for Hero

Published

3 days ago

Nov 29, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as all of the attention turns to Tiger’s comeback this week at the Hero World Challenge.

1. Tiger on the state of his health, game

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”On Thursday, Woods is scheduled to make his first start since the third round of the Masters in April at the Hero World Challenge. He hosts the tournament, which benefits his foundation.”

“My game feels rusty; I haven’t played in a while,” Woods said during a news conference Tuesday. “I had my subtalar fused. I’m excited to compete and play, and I’m just as curious as all of you are to see what happens because I haven’t done it in a while.

“I can tell you this: I don’t have any of the pain that I had at Augusta or pre-that in my ankle. Well, other parts are taking the brunt of the load, so I’m a little more sore in other areas, but the ankle’s good. So that surgery was a success.”

Full piece.

2. Woods frustrated by Tour handling of framework agreement

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”Tiger Woods, in his first comments since the Masters, admitted he was “frustrated” with the PGA Tour’s handling of the framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.”

“Woods, speaking to the media at this week’s Hero World Challenge, was asked for his reaction to the tour’s surprise announcement with the financial backer of LIV Golf, as Woods had been publicly silent on the matter. The 15-time major winner said he was “surprised” before expressing irritation for how the situation was handled.”

“Well, going back to that, I would say that my reaction was surprised as I’m sure a lot of the players were taken back by it, by what happened,” Woods said on Tuesday. “So quickly without any input or any information about it, it was just thrown out there. I was very surprised that the process was what it was. We were very frustrated with what happened and we took steps going forward to ensure that the player involvement was not going —we were not going to be left out of the process like we were. So part of that process was putting me on the board and accepting that position.”

Full piece.

3. Tiger’s plans to play

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”Best-case scenario? Playing “maybe a tournament a month,” Woods answered.”

“We have set up right now the biggest events are one per month, it sets itself up for that,” Woods added. “Now, I need to get myself ready for all that. I think this week is a big step in that direction.”

“Looking at the PGA Tour’s schedule for next year, here are the events Woods could play if he chose to start in January and play once per month through July: Farmers, Genesis, The Players, Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open. The FedExCup Playoffs begin in August, though assuming Woods’ still light schedule, he’d be a longshot to earn enough points to qualify.”

Full piece.

4. Rob McNamara to caddie for Woods

PGATour.com staff report…”There’s an open position on Woods’ bag following longtime caddie Joe LaCava’s move to Patrick Cantlay earlier this spring. For now, a full-time replacement is still in flux.”

“I don’t think Charlie’s going to be able to caddie,” said Woods, who spent several weeks this fall caddying for Charlie in various junior tournaments. “[He] can’t play hooky that often.”

“Woods confirmed Tuesday that Rob McNamara, his longtime business partner and vice president of TGR Ventures, will fill in this week at the Hero World Challenge. It is Woods’ first start since he underwent a subtalar fusion procedure in his right ankle in April. Woods withdrew from the third round of the Masters because of pain in the ankle, which stemmed from a broken talus bone suffered in a February 2021 car crash.”

Full piece.

5. Don’t forget about Will Z!

PGATour.com staff…“Tiger Woods and Will Zalatoris, each of whom withdrew from the Masters Tournament in April only to undergo season-ending surgery shortly afterward, return to action at this week’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.”

“…One of the most promising up-and-coming Americans, Zalatoris had already suffered a few near-misses in majors by the time he captured his first PGA TOUR title in a playoff at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in 2022. It seemed like the start of something big, but fate intervened.”

“He suffered two herniated discs the next week, withdrew from the BMW Championship and missed the TOUR Championship and Presidents Cup. Although Zalatoris returned early this year, so did the pain, and he withdrew from the Masters without hitting a shot.”

“A microdiscectomy…ended Zalatoris’ season.”

Full Piece.

6. G-Mac joining Smash

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After finishing outside of the top-24 in the LIV Golf standings (40th) last season, Graeme McDowell has not been resigned by his former LIV Golf team, Cleeks GC.”

“However, McDowell received some good news after losing his guaranteed spot and has been signed by Smash GC which is captained by Brooks Koepka.”

“According to James Corrigan of The Telegraph, McDowell, an insider told him “Could not believe his luck.”

“Obviously, all was not rosy on the Cleeks and with G-Mac and Kaymer. He thought he was out of LIV and would have to be participating on the Asian Tour next year. Playing alongside Koepka – probably the best player on LIV – is a massive result for him.”

“G-Mac is the second player to depart from Martin Kaymer’s Cleeks GC, as Austrian Bernd Wiesberger also failed to finish inside the top-24 on the standings and is now returning to the DP World Tour to play once again.”

Full Piece.

7. Donald to captain Europe in 2025

8. Spieth reaggravated injury in bizarre way

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Last season, Jordan Spieth struggled with a wrist injury for most of the year. The three-time major champion failed to earn a victory and finished 27th in the FedEx Cup standings.”

While speaking with the media prior to the Hero World Challenge, Spieth shared how he reaggravated the injury after he finally started to feel better over the summer months.

“I was reaching for a toaster to make my son breakfast. The toast wasn’t even in the toaster.”

The injury stems from overuse, so the 30-year-old has been cautious about too much practice.

“It’s not anything to mess with, so I’ve been trying to take it very, very carefully.”

Full Piece.

9. WITB Time Machine: Rickie Fowler’s winning WITB, 2017 Hero World Challenge

We’re jumping in the WITB Time Machine and heading back to 2017 when Rickie Fowler was head of the class at Albany. The patron saint of orange finished with an 18-under tally, four strokes ahead of Charley Hoffman, thanks to a scorching final-round 11-under 61.

Let’s take a look at what Rickie had in play that Sunday in the Bahamas.

Driver: Cobra King F8+ Nardo (8 degrees)

Shaft: Aldila 2KXV NV Blue 70 X (43.35 inches)

3-wood: Cobra King F8+ (14.5 degrees)

Shaft: Aldila Synergy 70 X

5-wood: Cobra F8+ Baffler (18.5 degrees)

Shaft: Aldila Synergy 70 X

Irons: Cobra King Forged MB (4-PW)

Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper S+ 125

Wedges: Cobra King V-Grind (52, 56, 60)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype