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Morning 9: Prez Cup assistants named | (Alleged) stinginess could sting Kuchar | Golf’s biggest winner’s check

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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])
  • February 13, 2019
Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.
1. “Golf’s New Rules: Few Players Know Them, Fewer Understand Them”
Sometimes, you can’t beat the original headline, and such is the case with what Karen Crouse penned for the New York Times. Withering stuff!
  • Crouse writes…”The United States Golf Association and the R&A revised the sport’s rule book to simplify the game and speed up the pace of play. But so far the changes, which took effect at the start of 2019, have been harder to follow than a game of Simon Says.”
  • “In the few weeks since the modifications took effect, players have repeatedly sought guidance from the nearest rules official, their caddies or pieces of paper tucked inside their golf bags, undermining for now, at least, the stated intention of making things simpler and faster.”
  • “And it’s adding an extra bit of hesitancy to the pros’ trip through the course. During a rain-sodden second round at Pebble Beach on Friday, Hunter Mahan was forced to consult a tournament-issued rules sheet before touching his ball. “We thought we knew what the rule was,” Mahan said, “but there’s no clarity, so having an official or actually having it written down is the only true clarification.”
2. Stinginess could sting
The Irish Times’ David Gorman connected Matt Kuchar’s reported $5,000 payment to larger social issues.
  • “This is a life, after all, where estimates suggest US CEOs are paid 300 times what the average worker earns, up from 40 times the average in the 1980s. Wealth inequality has reached such a stage that the world’s richest 26 people hold the same wealth as the poorest 50 per cent.”
  • It is in this world where a golfer like Kuchar, a man who has earned more than $46 million on the PGA Tour in his career, can justify such a brazen act of stinginess – a paltry chunk of the winner’s cheque.
  • Kuchar would say in his defence that he was not paying his regular caddie, rather a local caddie who had picked up his bag for the week. The base fee was agreed at $5,000, with bonuses depending on performance. Golf.com reports Ortiz was offered an additional $15,000, for a total of $20,000. He refused the offer, and thinks he has been taken advantage of.
3. Sergio’s mea culpa
Garcia will tee it up on the PGA Tour for the first time since his unsanctioned green complex renovations in Saudi Arabia.
In an Instagram post, Sergio wrote…”Happy to be in my first @pgatour event of the season and have my brother on the bag again this year. I’ve obviously had some time to reflect, and want to again say I’m sorry to my fans and fellow competitors. What happened is not an example I want to set, and it’s not who I truly am. I am an emotional player and while I believe that’s one of my biggest strengths, it’s also one of my biggest flaws. I’m focused on working hard to channel that emotion the correct way and to be the best me, learn from it and move forward. Thanks for all the support.”
4. Prez Cup assistant captains
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard with the details on captain Woods’ selections.
  • “Woods named Fred Couples, Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker assistant captains for this year’s matches which will be played in December in Australia. Woods can also add a fourth assistant.”
  • “Couples went 3-0 as a captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team (2009, 2011 and 2013), and Stricker led the American team to a convincing victory in ’17 at Liberty National in New Jersey.”
  • “Freddie and I go way back in the Presidents Cup,” Woods said in a release. “We’re basically coming full circle at Royal Melbourne. He and I teamed up in one of our matches in ’98, I was a captain’s pick in ’11 and now we get to return there as two leaders of this team. We’re going to have some fun.”
5. Playing captain
Interesting that the assistants are joining the team with the expectation that Woods will be a playing captain.
Hoggard again writes…
  • “We all expaect him to be a part of the team as a player,” Stricker said. “It will add another dimension for all of us to take probably some of the responsibility off of his plate.”
  • Stricker anticipates Woods would delegate some of his captain’s duties if he were to become a playing captain, but he admits that might be difficult for him.
  • “He’s one of those guys that wants to do it and do it right and put his stamp on it,” Stricker said. “If he makes the team as a player, we’re going to have to probably do some more things to take some of that off his plate so he can concentrate on playing and getting those points.”
6. A difficult return
Bill Haas, who last year was a passenger in a fatal car crash during the Genesis Open, is in the field for this year’s event.
  • Again Rex Hoggard (the man is a machine) writes…”Haas, understandably, withdrew from last year’s Genesis Open and he didn’t tee it up on Tour again for nearly a month. As he made the rounds on Tuesday at Riviera to prepare for this year’s event, the memories came flooding back.”
  • “There are a lot of emotions that I keep inside that impact me in ways that I’m figuring out, whether that’s good or bad,” Haas said. “It’s given me a perspective.”
  • “Haas is staying in Santa Monica this week with his wife, but that doesn’t mean he’s trying to forget what happened last year. In fact, he had dinner with Gibello’s wife on Monday night.”
7. Big names slated for Mexico
Hoggard AGAIN…”The first real test of the PGA Tour’s condensed schedule comes next week at the WGC-Mexico Championship, and if the current projected field remains unchanged, it appears most players aren’t opting out of the no-cut event in exchange for some much-needed rest.
  • The current field for the year’s first World Golf Championship includes 47 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, although that could change with Friday’s deadline to commit.
8. TW’s superstitions
…aka meticulous, consistent preparation.
  • From Golf Channel’s Grill Room Team/a Tiger Woods, Fred Couples discussion for GolfTV
  • “Three tees in the right pocket – always.”
  • Yardage book in the right back pocket – always.
  • “Just carrying a pin sheet? Well that always goes in the front left pocket, with his chapstick, which he always carries there.”
  • “He also revealed that he always marks his ball with a quarter from 1932, because that’s the year his dad was born.”
  • “He taught me how to putt. So my dad is always there with me when I play,” said Woods, whose father, Earl, passed away in 2006.
9. $3 million
The European Tour announced its bumping the first-place payout for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship from $1.33 million to $3 million in 2019.
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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. James

    Feb 13, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    It’s Steinberg’s stinginess, not Kuchar’s.

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Equipment

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

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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

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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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5 fall golf trip destinations you should book right now

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The 2024 golf season is in full swing with the warm weather settling in and those long summer days right around the corner, but what if we told you that you should be thinking about golf this fall? While it may seem to be a ways away, now is the perfect time to start putting together your end-of-season fall golf trip

Courses are in great shape, the weather is more enjoyable as temps cool off, and your golf game is in peak condition after playing all summer! The best part about fall golf trips is that there are some great deals to be found at golf destinations across the country! Additionally, you can get away to the Caribbean on an all-inclusive trip or travel across the pond for some links golf in the UK or Ireland before the end of their golf season in October. 

If you are happy to stay stateside this fall, here are the best golf destinations you should book for your fall trip.

Myrtle Beach, SC 

Commonly known as the “Golf Capital of the World”, this coastal destination is home to over 200 golf courses making it the ideal location for a golf trip! If you’re looking for golf and accommodation onsite, choose from a wide range of resorts including favorites like Barefoot and Legends. Alternatively, you could rent a house or stay by the beach and play top tracks like Caledonia, Grande Dunes, Pine Lakes, True Blue, TPC Myrtle Beach and many more! With a plethora of options, you will be able to customize your trip to stay within budget! Fall in South Carolina is a golfer’s paradise with minimal rain, sunny skies, and temperatures in the low 80s (dipping into the 70s in later fall with lower humidity), the perfect combination for a golf trip.

Scottsdale, AZ 

If you’ve never played golf in the desert, fall is the best time to do so and there is no better selection of desert layouts than Scottsdale. With a wide variety of golf resorts, courses, and attractions, it is easy to see why many professional golfers call this place home. Enjoy a golf and city trip with a stay close to the nightlife in Old Town and a tour of the local courses like Raven, McCormick Ranch, and Ocotillo. Head north of the city with a resort stay at The Westin Kierland or Hyatt Regency and play some Championship courses like TPC Scottsdale, Troon North, or Grayhawk. Or head out to the fabulous We-Ko-Pa Resort  and Golf Club and indulge in the ultimate desert golf experience. The weather in Scottsdale will be very warm (mid to high 80s), with cloudless skies and green grass contrasting the desert landscape.

Orlando, FL 

The golf mecca in the state of Florida, Orlando is a great golf destination any time of the year, but fall is really where it flourishes. Course conditions are impeccable, the weather is warm with fading humidity, and there are a multitude of off-course activities for the whole family. Stay & play at some of the best golf resorts like Reunion and Omni Championsgate or tick off a bucket list course when you visit Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill. A few other reasons this destination is so popular is the wide variety of rental houses throughout the area, perfect for a large group and the quality courses to choose from including Waldorf Astoria, Celebration, Shingle Creek, and the three Disney courses! With easy accessibility through the MCO Airport, Orlando is a no-brainer for a fall golf trip.

Las Vegas, NV 

PAIUTE GOLF RESORT – LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

A destination often overlooked when it comes to golf, Las Vegas in the fall is a wonderful treat! A stay on the iconic Las Vegas Strip gives you a wide range of 3 to 5-star hotel options within walking distance to the city’s biggest entertainment venues, casinos, restaurants, and more! For golf options, you will need to travel outside of the city (roughly 20 mins) to play some incredible desert layouts like Rio Secco, Revere, Cascata, and the trio of courses at Paiute Golf Resort. If you fancy a longer day trip, you can always take the hour-long drive up to Mesquite and play Wolf Creek and Conestoga for a pure desert golf experience. 

Alabama – Robert Trent Jones Trail 

If you’re a golf nerd (like me) and you’re looking for something a little different for your trip, look no further than the incredible RTJ Trail in Alabama. The Trail spans 11 different locations across the state with over 400 holes of golf all designed by legendary course designer Robert Trent Jones, Sr. The more popular courses on the trail are in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Auburn, making it perfect for an extended trip. Some of the best courses on the trail include Ross Bridge, Grand National (2 courses) and Capitol Hill (3 courses).Weather-wise, fall is the best time to hit the trail with average temps hovering around 80s (dipping into the 70s as fall goes on) with a limited amount of rainfall. The summer months are usually where the pricing is the highest so you can find the best deals in the fall with courses still in good condition. 

There has already been a huge uptick in fall golf trip bookings, so make sure to start planning now to get the travel dates and tee times you want for your group! 

Editor’s note: This article is presented in partnership with Golfbreaks. When you make a purchase through links in this article, GolfWRX may earn an affiliate commission. 

RELATED: 7 PGA TOUR courses you need to play

  

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