Tour Tracker: Round 1, Phoenix Open
Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley. They'll provide plenty of on-course fireworks, while the crowd promises to be as rowdy as it normally is in Phoenix. Follow our Round 1 live blog now!
The Most Read Golf Publication In The Tri-State Area....
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Tour Tracker: Round 1, Phoenix Open
Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley. They'll provide plenty of on-course fireworks, while the crowd promises to be as rowdy as it normally is in Phoenix. Follow our Round 1 live blog now!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Invitation to connect on LinkedIn
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Thursday, January 23, 2014
PGA Show 2014: Live Blog, Day 2
PGA Show 2014: Live Blog, Day 2
It's Day 2 of the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. and we'll be providing the latest news from the showroom floor, complete with photos, videos and blogs.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Thursday, January 16, 2014
5 Things: Reed leads Humana; Zach close; more
5 Things: Reed leads Humana; Zach close; more
True to form, 19 players shot 66 or better in the first round of the Humana Challenge. As usual, it’s go low or go home. Patrick Reed led the way with a 9-under-par 63.
Course Closings 11 Times Openings
On the eve of what might be called “Golf’s
Annual Global Summit,” better known as the annual PGA Merchandise Show which
takes place next week in Orlando, the National Golf Foundation is reporting
that in the U.S. during 2013 more than 11 times as many golf courses closed
compared to the number that opened.
The NGF records openings and closings using
the descriptor of “18-Hole Equivalents” to equalize the data among different
sized facilities. Last year 157.5 courses closed, six being private clubs and
the balance public access, either daily fee or municipal.
On the other side of the ledger 14 courses
(18-Hole Equivalents) opened and 40 percent or 5.5 of them were private
facilities.
At the end of 2012 there were 14,564.5 courses
in the country, 10,704.5 being in the public access category.
This is the eighth year in a row there has
been a decrease in the number of golf courses, a total of 643 from the peak in
2005. This is a drop of about 4 percent and reflects the decrease in the number
of golfers plus other factors such as local economic conditions and course
capitalization.
Industry analysts point out the shrinkage in
the number of courses is a natural correction of the market reflecting fiscal
and demographic changes in the business of golf after the 40 percent growth in
golf facilities from 1986 to 2005.
Though it may first strike the observer as
counterintuitive the continued closing of courses is a positive for the
industry. As the NGF notes, “Although there will be excellent new golf courses
being built in the future, the gradual market correction is expected to
continue for the next few years. Annual net reduction of supply should be in
the 130-160 range, helping us inch toward a healthier supply and demand
balance.”
ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Tour Tracker: Sony Open, first round
Tour Tracker: Sony Open, first round
Keep up with the top developments from the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii right here – and catch up on more PGA Tour coverage this week leading up to Thursday's action.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
New ClubGliders
The
ClubGlider from Sun Mountain is a great solution to that unpleasant task of
getting your sticks through the airport and for the new season a new model
joins the lineup, the Tour Series.
ClubGlider
is different from other travel bags because it has extendable legs with wheels
in addition to the wheels at the bottom of the bag. This means all of the
weight is supported making it easy to maneuver to and from the parking lot and
when you get to airline check-in the legs fold away, locking in place.
Since a
loaded travel bag can weigh 45 pounds, the ClubGlider’s design does away with
the hassle and strain of picking it up and putting it down. Your travel bag
stands ready to move when you are. All have heavy-duty two-way zippers on the
outside and thick padding on the inside to protect clubheads and shafts. Plus
there are storage pockets, internal cinch straps, reinforced wear areas and a
lift-assist handle.
ClubGlider
is available in four different models – Pro, Meridian, Journey and the new Tour
Series – offering protection for golfers ranging from weekend warriors to
touring professionals. Retail prices are $349, $289, $219, and $319
respectively.
ED
TRAVIS | Golf
Opinion & Commentary
Bunkershot.com
Golf
Fashion Weekly
Ten Rounds With The CB Pro
According
to the buzz, Tour Edge had come up with something really special in the Exotics
CB Pro fairway and starting with the packaging it was evident they agreed.
Rather
than the usual slim cardboard carton holding a club muffled in bubble wrap, the
CB Pro was inside a carton inside another carton with the club suspended in
multi-layer pasteboard brackets. There was even a pasteboard tube to secure the
Stitch head cover. Clearly Tour Edge considers the CB Pro to be out of the
ordinary so I was looking forward to “test driving” this latest from the
company that built their reputation by making really top notch fairways and
hybrids.
“Test
driving” new clubs, especially drivers and fairways can be done in several ways
but I prefer to do it on the course. A golf simulator is fine and the computer
data is useful but on-course conditions cannot be duplicated even by the most
sophisticated software. Testing on the range is an improvement since wind and
lie and stance mimic actual playing but even with a radar measurement device
you still can’t walk out and see for yourself.
And you
can add to my list of prejudices, the same is true when comparing one club to
another. Call me old-school but the proof of a club’s performance is on the
course not on the range or in a simulator.
So,
after being appropriately appreciative of Tour Edge’s packaging the next stop
was the course.
The
first thing you notice is at address is the CB Pro head looks smaller than
recent Exotics models like the XCG6. At 170cc the size and shape look good
behind the ball and could even be called confidence inspiring. There’s also a
new sole design that Tour Edge says helps keep clubhead speed at impact by
tending to glide over the turf rather than digging in and looking at divot
depths this certainly seems to be true. The titanium cup face is combo brazed
to the stainless steel body, a process used only by Tour Edge, and clubhead
weight has be moved closer to the face to favor a lower ball flight.
As it
happened the first two rounds with it in the bag were played with a 10-plus mph
wind but since the CB Pro does produce a nice flat trajectory it meant the ball
could be controlled even when across the wind.
Because
of the wind (and playing in the rain on one occasion) it wasn’t until the
fourth or fifth round I really came to appreciate how long the CB Pro hit the
ball. It had felt good, solid from the start, but the fact that even with a
flat trajectory there was enough spin on the ball to keep it in air without a
tendency to balloon meant the result was really good distance.
Gaining
confidence I started using it from the tee on tight holes and though it
certainly isn’t as long as a driver it did what you want the most when using a
3-wood instead of a 1-wood, it “thread the needle” when called upon.
There’s
no question the Exotics CB Pro should be at the top of your list for
consideration if you are in the market to replace your present fairways. It comes
in a choice of five lofts between 13.5 degrees and 17.5 degrees with either the
Fujikura Speeder 661 or 757 Series shaft.
At the
beginning I said Tour Edge thinks this club is something special. The packaging
was an indication of how special but the company is only making a limited
number of the CB Pro and, risking “sticker shock,” has set the retail price at
$500.
ED
TRAVIS | Golf
Opinion & Commentary
Bunkershot.com
Golf
Fashion Weekly
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Ping i25 irons
Ping i25 irons
Ping's latest game-improvement i25 irons transition from forgiving long irons into feel-oriented short irons.
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