Tiger is Good

I have nothing else...other than the Pats cover tonight.

Callaway Tour Authentic Line

According to Golfwrx Callaway will release it Tour Authentic Line in April. The clubs are designed for the better player and are "straight from the PGA Tour," i.e. they won't be made easier for the average player to hit. The most anticipated release will be the X-Prototype Blades. These are the same irons that Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els play and many have wondered if they would come to market. There will also be a new version of the FT-5 Driver called the FT-5 T. The driver will be 1.5* open at address. The new X-Forged wedges will also feature a Tour Authentic model, with the PM grind and a tighter heel to toe radius. The line will also feature the Odyssey Tour Milled Putters. This looks to a very exciting new line for the better player.

New 2008 Bridgestone J36 Irons, Hybrids, & West Coast Liquid Copper Wedges

Some more new golf clubs for 2008 from Golfwrx. This time they bring us the new Bridgestone J36 series of irons and hybrids and the West Coast Liquid Copper wedges. The irons include the J36 blades, cavity, and pocket cavity irons. They are some pretty good looking irons and there are choices for various skill levels. Golfwrx says the new hybrids are an "extension of last year's Gravity Chamber hybrid." The new wedges have a fully milled face, raw oil can finish, and variable bounce technology. Click the pictures below to enlarge.

2008 MacGregor Irons and Wedge

MacGregor is a classic name in golf equipment, but in recent years it hasn't had the popularity of other OEMs. Here are some more pictures from Golfwrx. The new irons and wedges could bring them back into the equipment wars. The Pro C and Pro M irons are both very classic looking. The thread also reports there will be a combo set with long irons in the Pro C and short irons in the Pro M. The new MT Pro wedge by Don White also looks very good (as you can see available in 2 different finishes). There will also be 3 sets in the MT iron series that will be more forgiving and cater to a wider range of players. The picture below is of the MT. There will also be an MT-Mid (midsize) and MT-OS (oversize).

New 2008 Callaway Irons

We have had some of the new 2008 Titleist equipment in previous posts. Here are a few of the new 2008 offerings from Callaway. The pictures are again from Golfwrx. The new offerings include the FT irons, BB06, and the FT i-brid. Golfwrx indicates the release date will be January 15, 2008 for all of the sets. As you can see the FT irons look like an update of the Fusion. The BB06 is obviously the new version of the super game improvement Big Bertha series. Finally, FT i-brid is a extra super game improvement iron. Click the pictures for bigger images.

Jack Nicklaus '86 Masters Video

So I was only 6 years old in 1986 when Jack won his 18th professional major at age 46, but I remember coming home from grandparent's house in Augusta and watching the end of the final round with my dad. Here is a great 10 minute video with highlights from the final round.

More New Titleist Irons - AP2 and ZB

Some more new Titleist irons for 2008 from Golfwrx. This time they bring us pictures of the new AP2 and ZB combo set. Click pictures for bigger images. These are a couple of the other news irons mentioned in the previous blog post on the ZM Forged Blades.

New 2008 Titleist Irons - ZM Forged

Check out the following pictures of the new Titleist ZM Forged Irons courtesy of GolfWRX. They look a lot like the the 695 MB's, but with a "Z" shape on the muscle. The site also reports that Titleist's 2008 iron lineup will feature 3 other new iron sets, including: a cavity blended/combo set (ZC - see 2 iron below)and 2 in the Advanced Player series - AP1 Cast Game Improvement and the AP2 Forged.

Click the pictures for larger images

Changes to the FedEx Cup

The PGA Tour came out with changes to the FedEx Cup today. The first 3 events will be played in succession beginning August 21st. Then there will be a 1 week break with absolutely no golf on the PGA Tour. The following week (September 21st) the Ryder Cup will be held at Valhalla. The only other "change" is that a portion of the prize money will be paid directly to the players rather than put into the player's retirement account.

The tour's press release says the first year worked "well enough" and therefore no major changes were made. I think that statement is questionable at best. This year your 2 biggest stars in Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson skipped an event, as did Ernie Els and British Open Champion Padraig Harrington. This change will help those that will play in the Ryder Cup, but I don't see where it will do anything about players skipping events.

I just don't think Tim Finchem and the rest of the Tour leadership did enough. According to Jason Sobel at ESPN.com 37.5% of fans thought there needed to major overhaul and 44.2% thought there needed to be minor changes. I don't think what has been done would even qualify as a minor change, from my eyes it looks like a "no change."

The Tour does note the posibility of a revision in the point system, but this will not be finalized until February - after the season has already begun. Hopefully this change will take place and give more players a chance to challenge for the championship. However, none of the changes made or the proposed changes address the major problem with the schedule. I don't see Tiger or Phil being anymore likely to play 5 of 6 weeks than they were to play 4 in a row this year.

Maybe next year.

Timberlake Open Bringing SexyBack to the Fall Series

Justin Timberlake will join the Fall Series next year. Some may remember that in the spring Timberlake said he would like to play in a PGA Tour event. Fortunately we won't have to watch a 6 handicapper playing on TV. Timberlake's role will be as a tournament host, a la Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

His event will be what was this year the Frys.com Open (not to be confused with the Fry's Electronics Open). It will take place from October 13-19, 2008 in Las Vegas. The name of the event is even ridiculous in these day of multiple corporate sponsors, as it will be called the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, which leads me to wonder what was wrong with simply the Las Vegas Invitational?

The tournament will have Timberlake and a concert. Problem is that it still won't have any of the top players. I am guessing the teenage girl demographic is not going to help ratings on the Golf Channel for the tournament.

I have nothing against Timberlake, but this makes post-FedEx even less relevant in my eyes. This leads me to believe even more in my hypothesis that the Fall Series could be gone soon - if Tim Finchem and the tour brass don't make some changes to the FedEx Cup and/or the current Fall Series.

Really Bad Golf Is Funny

handicapped - A Documentary About Bad Golf

Who would have thought a documentary about bad golfers could be funny? Well this one looks like it could be - check the trailer out.

What is this documentary about?
Albert J. Doermaet, who founded a $400 million porta potty company, hosts and puts up the money for his own big money golf tournament each year. Just to give you a little taste about what this man is all about, according to the tournament website one of his favorite quotes is: ""Your s#@* is my BREAD and BUTTER!"

The 2006 version of the tournament was taped by film crews and some hack walked away with $250,000 at the end of the day. The only rule is that only bad golfers need apply (22 handicap or worse). Unfortunately those of you out there who meet the criteria won't be able to play until 2008 because the gracious host just had back surgery. There is good news though - the pot goes up to $300,000 next year. Maybe Charles will apply.

Look for the movie at festivals beginning in 2008.

PGA Tour Fall Series

The PGA Tour is in the midst of its Fall Series right now, but is there even any interest among casual golf fans? Those of you, like me, would watch the Christmas Island Open if it was on the Golf Channel are still watching, but I bet most are not. The casual golf fan just isn't interested in the battle to finish in the top 125 on the money list and keep a Tour card for next year.

First, there is a lack of star power. Tiger isn't playing in any of these of post Tour Championship/FedEx Cup events and I don't believe he will in future years either. This week's event in Scottsdale had Phil Mickelson in the field, but he missed the cut. According to www.philmickelson.com, this will be his last PGA Tour event of the season. Obviously all the players out there are great, but without the big names that doesn't matter for viewership.

Next, there are too many other sporting events going on. You have the NFL, college football, baseball pennant races and playoffs, and the start of the NHL and NBA seasons.

One final issue is the TV coverage. With Saturdays and Sundays full of football, the events have been relegated to the Golf Channel. Someone flipping through the channels isn't as likely to flip to the Golf Channel to watch an event. Many might check ABC, NBC, CBS or ESPN, but they aren't going to check out the Golf Channel.

What does this mean for the future of these events? I wouldn't be surprised if these events are gone in the not so distant future. The problems above could easily lead to a lack of sponsorship and in today's world an event can't survive without a sponsor. Look at the last 2 events - this week they are playing the Fry's Electronic Open and last week was the Frys.com Open. If the best the Tour/events could was get the same sponsor 2 weeks in a row, it is pretty obvious to me that there was not much competition to sponsor these events. It would be sad to see an event that has been around since 1922 (like the Texas Open) fade away, but I think it is more than plausible without a change to FedEx Cup or a reshuffle of events.

Afghan Golf

Here is a pretty amazing article about the one and only golf course in Afghanistan. It's definitely different than anything in the U.S. or probably in the world for that matter. Coming from someone who loves golf as much as anybody, I must say that I am even amazed people would play in conditions like these.

As a short preview,

It has no grass and no delineation between the fairways and the rough, and the greens — the course rules call them browns — are a concoction of sand and oil packed with a heavy roller and swept with a broom vaguely resembling those dragged along the base paths at the seventh-inning stretch in baseball.

Like Happy 18th Birthday Michelle Wie...

It really is sad that at 18 she looks washed up. This week she is once again in last place after a stellar 79 (+9). Nike, Samsung, and everyone else must really feel good about their investments right about now.

I could talk about B.J. Wie but he doesn't deserve any more discussion here than Marv Marinovich.