Editor's Note: We receive hundreds of questions each week for our PGA Experts. Though we can't answer every one of them, we will take some of the most illuminating and beneficial questions and have one of the top authorities from the PGA of America to answer them for you. We are in the process of finding ways for more experts to answer more of your questions! Thank you for your support and keep the questions coming!
Out with the old and in with the ... old. For the first time since 1990, Poppy Hills GC will not be used for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Instead, the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club makes its much-anticipated return to the lineup. It was last included in the rota in 1977. Its reconstruction in 2003 was the final job for Mike Strantz, who passed away in 2005. MPCC is the first Strantz design ever played on the PGA TOUR.
LOS ANGELES -- Luke Donald is determined to capitalize on his strong finish at the Northern Trust Open when he tees it up later this week at Pebble Beach.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- European No. 1 Lee Westwood shrugged off his winless start to the new season after Sunday's playoff defeat at the Dubai Desert Classic.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The PGA TOUR has named IMG as the operations partner for The Presidents Cup 2011, which will be held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Nov. 17-20, 2011.
Editor's note: PGATOUR.COM's Melanie Hauser will be shaking out the mental lint and pulling together the "Quick 18" on Mondays this year. Here are her thoughts after the Northern Trust Open:
Bob Zoller can still see Mike Strantz. When Zoller, the superintendent of Monterey Peninsula Country Club for almost 30 years, walks the Shore course, he sees the late architect sitting in his utility cart in the middle of an unfinished fairway, staring into the distance.
My colleague, Helen Ross, wrote a piece on whether Steve Stricker is now the best player never to have won a major. I'll take it a step further and say that he's the best player in golf right now.
Golf fitness exercises are a key component in the development of a better golf swing. We only need to reference the body-swing connection to understand the importance that physical components such as flexibility, strength, and stability play in the execution of a biomechanically efficient golf swing.
Editor's note: Chuck Cox was elected to PGA Membership in October of 1997. He currently serves as a sales representative for Callaway Golf. Cox was awarded Callaway Golf's Southwest Regional Sales Rep of the Year in 2006 and '08, Chairmen's Club recipient, 2005-07. He's been employed in the golf industry for 20 years and his previous employers include: PGA Assistant Professional & Teaching Professional at Kapalua Golf Club, Maui, Hawaii; Sales Representative for Greens.com.
Editor's note: Vartan Kupelian is the Champions Tour Insider and a PGATOUR.COM Contributor. Each week, Kupelian will size up the field and provide his top 5 players going into the tournament, based on factors such as the player's strengths, the course setup, recent performances, etc.
Players competing in the Northern Trust Open raved about the condition of Riviera Country Club last week. According to the newly named Ryder Cup assistant Paul Goydos, "The greens keeper here should get a raise."
Each victory is a reminder how far Steve Stricker has come in four years, when he lost his PGA Tour card and plunged to No. 337 in the world ranking. His latest PGA Tour title -- the fourth in his last 15 tournaments -- raised questions about how much higher he can go. Stricker won the Northern Trust Open on Sunday, just like everyone expected, even though Stricker might have been the only one who...
There's a new course in the rotation this year. Monterey Peninsula Country Club replaces Poppy Hills, a move that makes most of the pros happy. (And Monterey should provide some great views for those watching at home, too.) Monterey Peninsula was included in the rota for many years, but the last time the tournament visited the club was 1977.
The new world No. 2, Steve Stricker, isn't playing this week. But the world No. 424, John Daly, is entered. So if you've been on pins and needles wondering if Daly's threat to retire was real, well, rest easy.
The defending champion is Dustin Johnson, who finished third in the Northern Trust Open. Sergio Garcia makes his 2010 PGA Tour debut this week, and Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, gets his second sponsor exemption of the year. Also in the field are Rickie Fowler, Ryo Ishikawa, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, last week's runner-up Luke Donald, and J.B. Holmes, who finished tied for third last week.
Before we go in depth about the different types of grips, there's one thing you must keep in mind: No matter what type of grips you have, if they get so old that you can't hold on to the club without strangling it, then you won't be able to swing the club properly. Your grips must give you the feeling that you can grip the club lightly without the worry of losing the club. Some grips last longer than others, but as a general rule you should change grips at least twice a year.
Who is the best golfer in the world? Tiger Woods, but he's not playing. The best golfer who is playing right now is Steve Stricker, according to the world rankings. By winning the Northern Trust Open on Sunday, Stricker bumped Phil Mickelson down to No. 3 in the rankings, taking over the second spot himself.
Stricker moving ahead of Mickelson isn't just an artifact of the ranking system's math, either. Stricker has earned it. Mickelson finished 2009 hot, but Stricker outplayed him over the course of the year.
In 2009, Stricker and Mickelson both had three PGA Tour wins. Mickelson later won the WGC HSBC Champions, a big win albeit one that didn't count as an official PGA Tour victory. Advantage to Mickelson.
But Stricker had more than twice as many Top 25 finishes as Phil (16 to 7), more Top 10s (11 to 7), won nearly $1 million more, and posted an actual scoring average more than one full stroke better than Mickelson's (69.51 to 70.83). In adjusted scoring - which takes into account course difficulty and strength of field - Stricker still easily bested Mickelson, ranking second to Phil's 28th.
And now Stricker has started 2010 with a 10th, a third and a win. While Mickelson opened the year with two indifferent showings on courses where he usually plays great.
Stricker is a couple weeks away from turning 43, and during the television broadcast one of the NBC announcers suggested Stricker might turn into another Vijay Singh - a victory machine in his 40s. Sure, that might happen, but let's not get carried away just yet.
It's more likely Stricker could turn into another Kenny Perry, who has 11 wins in his 40s. Stricker's Northern Trust Open victory was his fifth in his 40s. Vijay? He has 22.
Of course, Singh had a headstart on Stricker - he's four years and one day older than Stricker. But by the time Singh was the age Stricker is now, Vijay had already won 17 times in his 40s. It's asking a lot of any golfer - it will be asking a lot of Mickelson and of Tiger someday - to match Vijay's post-40 performance.
But any way you look at Stricker's play over the past 14 months, he deserves the No. 2 world ranking that he seized on Sunday.
Where will Tiger Woods make his return to golf? The celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com is reporting that Woods will play in the Tavistock Cup March 22-23.
Of all the celebrity gossip sites/magazines jumping on the Tiger Woods rumor train, TMZ.com's reporting has probably been the most solid. It's certainly had its share of reports that turned out to be wrong, however. The Web site claims its source is "someone who works for the Woods family."
Many have speculated that Woods will return at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, two weeks prior to The Masters. The Tavistock Cup is played in the days in-between the Transitions Championship and the Palmer, so it, too, is little more than two weeks prior to The Masters.
The Tavistock Cup is a team event that pits pros representing two of Florida's most exclusive clubs, Isleworth and Lake Nona. The event raises money for charity, but the participants - 10 players for each team - are very well-compensated. The purse in 2009 was $3.5 million.
A Tiger return at the Tavistock Cup makes sense on several levels, not the least of which is that fans are let through the gates on an invitation-only basis. The Tavistock Cup Web site explains the availability of tickets this way: "We are sorry, but tickets are not available to the general public. Only members of Isleworth Golf & Country Club, members of Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, tournament sponsors, and VIP guests are allowed to attend this event."
Woods would be among friends, with a smaller gallery full of rich people like himself, a gallery that is tightly controlled. It makes sense, doesn't it? Certainly more sense than last week's big rumor about a Tiger return at the Accenture Match Play Championship.
Every week of the 2010 PGA Tour season, the editorial staff of the SI Golf Group will conduct an e-mail roundtable. Check in on Mondays for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors and join the conversation in the comments section below.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ross McGowan of England might get the final spot in the 64-man Match Play Championship, but only if Tiger Woods doesn't return from his indefinite break.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Miguel Angel Jimenez defeated Lee Westwood on the third hole of a sudden death playoff Sunday to win the Dubai Desert Classic.
It sounds like a very simple thing - and it is a very simple thing - but there's a right way to rank sand bunkers. And that's the way you want to do it, because you should always leave a bunker you've visited in good shape for the golfers following behind you on the course.
Despite Tiger Woods' problems surrounding his adultery scandal and lost corporate sponsors, the world's No. 1 golfer remains the top athlete brand as ranked by Forbes.
Is Tiger Woods returning to golf at the Accenture Match Play Championship in two weeks? That's what an Australian newspaper said recently, not bothering to cite any sources at all - merely referencing "strengthening whispers." A Tiger return at the Match Play doesn't seem too likely to me, but more surprising things have happened.
The folks who run the Accenture Match Play won't be taken by surprise, however, if this particular Tiger rumor turns out to be true. Not because they know anything - they stress that they don't - but because they're prepared for anything.
"This is exactly what happened last year," Judy McDermott, one of the tournament managers, told the Arizona Daily Star newspaper. "Last year" refers to Woods' return from knee surgery, which was preceeded by weeks of speculation about where that return might happen. It wound up happening at the Accenture Match Play, leading to a surge in interest, media credentials and fans.
The Daily Star reports:
Wade Dunagan, executive director of the WGC event, recently awoke in the middle of a restless night. He worried that an unexpected Woods comeback might overwhelm spectator and media amenities at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.
When he relayed those anxieties to McDermott, she told him to relax. "This is exactly what happened last year," she said. In 2009, Woods ended an eight-month injury layoff with a six-word statement: "I'm now ready to play again." He was at the Ritz five days later.
"This event has a lot of moving pieces," Dunagan told the Daily Star. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could add Tiger to the list?"
But don't get the idea from quotes like that one that the tournament officials know anything. They stress they do not. Dunagan told the Arizona Republic newspaper:
"The main question is, 'Do I know anything you don't?' The answer is no. We're still a little bit in the dark. I can't confirm or deny anything, because I don't know."
According to a celebrity gossip site and an Australian newspaper, Tiger Woods is due to leave rehab for sexual addition at the end of this week, and the Aussie paper throws in that Woods might return to the PGA Tour just two weeks after that.
Woods is believed (it has never been proved beyond doubt) to be at the Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, undergoing treatment for sexual addiction. It is believed that Woods checked in to the clinic shortly before Christmas, and the clinic's treatment is a 6-week program.
RadarOnline.com claims that "Tiger Woods is leaving sex addiction rehab by the end of this week ... His wife Elin has flown to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to bring Tiger home." Citing "sources close to the situation," the Web site claims Tiger and Elin plan to go away alone together for a few days after his release.
Meanwhile, the Australian newspaper Herald Sun claims that Woods will return to golf at the Accenture Match Play Championship in just two weeks. It cites no sources for this assertion, referring only to "strengthening whispers."
The Accenture Match Play is where Woods returned following knee surgery, but Accenture is also one of Tiger's ex-sponsors, a company that pulled away from him the fastest in the aftermath of the cheating allegations. A Tiger return at Accenture's tournament, in just two weeks, doesn't make much sense on any level. But then, how much of this sordid tale does?
Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand shot a 4-under 68 Thursday to share the lead with Jason Knutzon of the United States after the first round of the Asian Tour International.
Phil Mickelson says he won't be using the Ping Eye2 wedge that led a fellow player to accuse him of "cheating," saying he has made his point about a rules problem he wants to see fixed.
U.S. captain Corey Pavin has selected four players to be his assistants at the Ryder Cup this year, including two players who have never competed in the matches.
Phil Mickelson said today that he's made his point: Close the loophole.
At a news conference today prior to the Northern Trust Open, Mickelson said that he won't use the old Ping Eye 2 wedges this week that are at the center of the groove-loophole storm. Despite being non-conforming under new groove rules, the old wedges remain legal for play due to long-ago legal agreements between the USGA and Ping and between the PGA Tour and Ping. Mickelson carried one of the old Ping Eye 2 wedges last week at the Farmers Insurance Open, something Tour veteran Scott McCarron called "cheating."
McCarron apologized to Mickelson this week for using the words "Phil Mickelson" and "cheating" in the same sentence. Mickelson isn't the only golfer who has used the old wedges, taking advantage of the loophole; John Daly was the highest-profile golfer to do so in the full-field season-opener, the Sony Open.
At his press conference Wednesday, Mickelson said:
"Out of respect for (fellow Tour players), I do not want to have an advantage over them, whether it's perceived or actual. So this week I won't be playing that wedge. My point's been made, I won't play it."
Mickelson slammed the USGA and PGA Tour for not working much earlier to close the Ping Eye 2 loophole. "You cannot put the players in the position to interpret what the rule means," Mickelson said. "This should have been decided well before this came out. It put me and it put all players in a bad spot and it needs to be changed."
And although Mickelson himself won't be playing the old Ping Eye 2s this week, he said he hopes other players do continue exploiting the loophole in order to keep pressure on the USGA and PGA Tour to work with Ping and find a way to close the loophole.
The Asian Tour begins its season Thursday with organizers still piecing together a schedule in the face of financial turmoil and the challenge of a rival tour.
Who would have guessed that 20- to 25-year old wedges would be behind such a kerfuffle on the PGA Tour. The latest on the PGA Tour and the old Ping Eye 2 loophole that some golfers are exploiting to continue using sharp-edged square grooves is that the Tour appears likely to attempt to ban the old clubs.
A players meeting took place on Tuesday at the site of the Northern Trust Open. After the meeting, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem spoke to Ping chairman and CEO John Solheim. Solheim released this statement:
"PGA Tour Commissioner Finchem and I had a brief discussion ... and he shared his belief that the 1993 settlement agreement allowed his organization to utilize the protocol to consider a special rule that would ban PING EYE2 irons and wedges. While we strongly disagree with their interpretation of the agreement, we agreed further dialogue on the topic was healthy. We hope to speak again in the next week or so. I've also been in contact with the USGA and expect to meet with them as well."
The "protocol" Solheim refers to is written into the 1993 agreement between the PGA Tour and Ping that stated the Tour would abide by USGA rulings regarding the legality for play of Ping Eye 2 irons made in the late 1980s. Since the USGA has its own legal agreement with Ping that stipulates those old Ping Eye 2s remain legal, those clubs also remain playable on the PGA Tour.
The "protocol" describes conditions under which the Tour could break away from the USGA's ruling regarding the Ping Eye 2s. That protocol involves a lot of legalese and some very specific conditions regarding the state of modern equipment. The Tour stated last week it believed it might be able to invoke the protocol; Ping's Solheim stated last week he didn't see how the conditions in the protocol could be considered met.
Based on Solheim's statement, it appears the PGA Tour will forge ahead and try to ban the old Ping Eye 2s. Commissioner Finchem is holding a press conference later today, where he'll be pressed about this matter. Stay tuned.
Less than four years after Ty Votaw married Sophie Gustafson of Sweden, whom he began dating while still commissioner of the LPGA Tour, the couple has divorced.
The Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club boasts the strongest field yet in the early PGA Tour season, but the groove flap seems to be overshadowing that. It will be interesting to see whether more - or fewer - players are using the old Ping Eye 2 wedges this week, after the brouhaha that developed at last week's Farmers Insurance Open.
Will Phil Mickelson keep a Ping Eye 2 in his bag? He's in the field this week, as are big-name veterans Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh and Steve Stricker. Even David Duval is entered.
But the real fun might be in watching some of those youngsters, such as two who were involved in chasing eventual champ Ben Crane in the final round last week: Michael Sim and Rickie Fowler. And Japanese teen phenom Ryo Ishikawa is playing at Riviera, too.
Check our Northern Trust Open tournament page to view the list of past winners - Mickelson has won two in a row - along with other tourney tidbits.
Answer: yes. If they are permitted by the USGA and PGA Tour, then any pro golfer can play them--even if they are grandfathered in because of a lawsuit brought by Ping. To anyone who says Phil Mickelson is "cheating," play a Ping wedge or shut it.
Veteran PGA Tour player Scott McCarron, a member of the Tour's Player Advisory Council, created a hornet's nest with his comments last week ripping Phil Mickelson and others for taking advantage of a loophole in the new groove rules.
The new groove rules ban square grooves. The loophole - which exists for PGA Tour and USGA competitions - allows square-grooved Ping Eye 2 irons and wedges made in the late 1980s to continue being used, even though they don't conform to the new groove rules. The loophole dates to a legal battle between the USGA and Ping, and the PGA Tour and Ping, in the late '80s and early 1990s.
When Mickelson decided last week to use an old Ping Eye 2 wedge at the Farmers Insurance Open, McCarron blasted the decision, saying: "It's cheating and I am appalled Phil has put it in play."
Today, McCarron posted a note on his Web site standing by those comments and calling for the PGA Tour to ban the old Ping Eye 2s, while also saying he never called Mickelson a cheater.
McCarron is technically right about that. He never said "Phil Mickelson is a cheater." But when you say that a) using the old Pings is cheating; and note that b) Mickelson is using the old Pings; you are saying "Phil Mickelson is cheating." "He's a cheater" vs. "he's cheating." Yes, there's a difference, but not enough of one for McCarron to be offended that some are saying he called Mickelson a cheater.
Ben Crane made news for all the right reasons on Sunday when he closed with a 2-under 70 for a one-shot victory in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
We found Win McMurry. She's left the PGA Tour for The Golf Channel. She says, "It's been forever since I last tweeted but wanted to share that I'm now at Golf Channel hosting studio updates during live TOUR coverage!"
Here's a look down memory lane with Win last year.
Wow, we loved this spectacular image of our good friend Bill Browne on the driving range. Not only does he have a good swing, but the color contrast and imagery are breathtaking. (c) Bill Browne. (photographer Greg Moore)
Michelle Wie went to the White House as a part of the victorious Solheim Cup. She gave Obama a lei, the shaka (hang loose) sign (just extend your pinkie and thumb, and shake it), and raved about it on Twitter:
"The white house was AMAZING yesterday. meeting pres obama was one of the coolest things EVER!!"
Christina Kim on her new blog wrote: "Anyway, spending time with President Obama is something I will always cherish. He told the team how he hit a 2-iron from 250yds to 8 feet and made the putt for birdie while he was in Hawaii. Someone mentioned how we need to get him into the 21st century and take that 2-iron out and slap a hybrid in his hand, and we all laughed. He was so gracious and it was so wonderful to spend time with him, especially considering he is such a busy man. Immediately after meeting with us, President Obama had to go into a meeting about, I'm assuming, the crisis in Haiti."
WSJ has an excellent article this week on the new USGA rule banning the square grooves so popular today. This rule applies immediately to the PGA Tour and professional golfers, but does not yet apply to amateur events. The new grooves will be not as big, which means you can't put as much backspin on a ball out of the rough (when grass gets between the ball and the club). Here are some basic facts:
1. The new rule applies to the PGA Tour and professional golfers. It is the first time that the USGA has gone backwards in terms of technology.
2. The change was implemented after 2 studies by the USGA that showed that the square grooves had greatly diminished the driving accuracy as a determiner of scoring on the tour, compared to the past (before 1990) when V grooves were in place.
4. The U.S. Amateur won't switch to the new rule until 2014.
5. All the rest of us don't have to switch until at least 2024. (Just think about it, by then, you won't be playing the same clubs anyway.) But golf manufacturers will stop after this year making the old square grooves.
Finally. Someone has spoken up in support of the much maligned Tiger Woods. It's Pres. Barack Obama. During a visit by the US women's team that won the Solheim Cup, Pres. Obama responded to news of Tiger Woods's scandal with these words of encouragment:
"I'm a strong believer that anybody can look within themselves, find their flaws, and fix them."
Obama is the first prominent public figure to come out in support of Tiger Woods since the entire sex scandal first broke. It's only taken a couple months for someone to speak up.
In October of 2007, media speculated that Tiger Woods had fired coach Hank Haney, who was no longer showing up at tourneys with Tiger as he had before. Tiger denied the firing, but acknowledged a reduced role at tourneys. Well, the speculation continued into 2009 about the surprising reduction in Haney's presence and the possibility that he might be fired.
Now that we know about Tiger Woods's sexual affairs during this time period, the diminishment of Haney's role as coach may be seen in a different light. Haney basically has said "no comment" about whether he knew of those affairs--which is in stark contrast to caddie Steve Williams, who said adamantly that he had "no knowledge" of the sexual affairs.
Does anyone else think there might be a connection between Haney's reduced role and Tiger Woods's apparent sexual affairs during this same period?
Finally, someone has spoken to Tiger Woods. It's good buddy and tennis superstar Roger Federer. Roger reveals that "Tiger Woods needs calm" and "soon he'll become the wonderful golfer that we know again."
The 2010 PGA Tour season starts today in Maui at the SBS Championship. Tiger's not there, of course, but the latest bombshell in the Tiger Woods sex scandal comes from Loredana Jolie Ferriolo, who, according to an exclusive from Radar Online, was allegedly a favorite mistress of Tiger Woods.
Ferriolo is shopping a book in which she reportedly claims to have witnessed Tiger Woods in group sex activities, threesomes, girl-on-girl action. Not only that, Ferriolo claims to have seen Tiger in sexual encounters with other men. (The allegation reported is not specific, but the description suggests that Ferriolo is claiming that she and Tiger were allegedly involved in group sex that involved men (and women).
Wonder if any publisher would take the chance in publishing this book? Can you say lawsuit. At this point, we don't know what to believe. One thing we know: nothing in the Tiger Woods sex scandal would be shocking now.
In February's issue of Vanity Fair, Buzz Bissinger writes an article "Tiger in the Rough" that attacks Tiger Woods like no other article ever has. It's a scathing attack on Tiger Woods. Here's a key paragraph:
"In the wake of the steamy revelations, Logan, like the general public, feels that Tiger willfully, and fraudulently, created an image designed to make him as much money as possible: “He held himself out to a higher standard he created and built and cashed in on. Everyone feels duped and betrayed. It’s not like some guy who got drunk and jumped in the sack with some waitress.”
"He deluded himself into thinking he could be something that he wasn’t: untouchable."
Huffington Post reports that porn (or adult film) studio Vivid CEO Steven Hirsch says that a sex tape allegedly with Tiger Woods is being shopped around right now. He says he has seen 30 seconds of it and is reviewing it to determine if it is really Tiger Woods.
Follow the action at the USGA Senior Amateur's Official Web site. Real-Time Scoring, news, blogs, photos, course information and more can be found. The USGA Senior Amateur is being held at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan.
Follow the action at the USGA Senior Women's Amateur's Official Web site. Real-Time Scoring, news, blogs, photos, course information and more can be found. The USGA Senior Amateur is being held at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.
Far Hills, N.J. - Fiddlesticks Country Club in Fort Myers, Fla., has been selected by the United States Golf Association as the site of the 2010 USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship. The dates of the championship are Oct. 9-14.
Far Hills, N.J. - Rickie Fowler, 18, of Murrieta, Calif., and Kyle Stanley, 19, of Gig Harbor, Wash., have been selected to complete the 10-man squad that will represent the United States of America for the 2007 Walker Cup Match. The Match is scheduled for Sept. 8-9 at Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, Northern Ireland.
Far Hills, N.J. - A proposed amendment to the 2008 Rules of Golf regarding additional forms of club adjustability has been approved by the USGA. Any such adjustment(s), however, cannot be made during a stipulated round. All new forms of iron and wood adjustability must be approved in advance by the USGA.
2008 scandalz.net
Frankfort, Kentucky, makes it against the law to shoot off a
policeman's tie.
