Schwartzel parts ways with ISM, Chandler

Schwartzel parts ways with ISM, Chandler

After 13 years, 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and agent Chubby Chandler of ISM are calling it quits, making the South African a prized free agent.

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How to Have Fun while in a Golf Club in Tristate

If you want to have fun during a weekend or a break, you definitely will enjoy when you do it in a golf club in Tristate. What if you don’t play golf? Would you still be able to have fun at the place? Yes, of course! Here are some good things you can do to enjoy yourself at a Tristate golf club.

While taking some time off from your busy work schedule, you can start by savoring the beautiful scenery that you will not be able to see while trapped in the four corners of your office. You can hear the sound of the wind or the chirping of the birds. This is something you would prefer hearing than digesting what your boss is being so bossy about every single day, right?

Next, you get to meet new people in the area. Smile and nod around if you see someone looking at you. Who knows, might just be able to gain a new set of friends in the golf course. If you go alone, you’ll have new friends. If you go with a group, might as well add a new person to your circle. It’s actually great to meet and know new faces and people from other areas.

While you are already in the golf club, why not take some time trying to learn how to golf? For sure, you have at least one friend who plays the game. If they are not in the place to attend some serious tournament, then they can offer you some training for beginners. If you are with your family, this could be a great bonding for you as well. Who knows, you have a golf champion spirit in you that just needs some discovering.

If you get interested while being in the place sometime, might as well enroll yourself in the golf club. You can get as many benefits that the club offers. Aside from learning the game and meeting new friends, you will definitely be able to enhance your sportsmanship and your personality as well. You will learn to discipline yourself and that is actually a good step to making yourself a better individual in general.

If you don’t like to involve yourself in golfing at all, you just have to enjoy the place with other people. You can actually go around the place and discover some good areas that you might like. If you love to eat, you can go around the place and look for some restaurants you can dine in. You can hop from one food corner to another. You have to taste every kind of food that is offered around the golf club area.

If you love to shop, the golf club in Tristate could also offer you some great places to shop around. You can also get souvenirs you can bring home. For sure, the golf club would have a magazine you might want to buy. It will give you some good insights as to what the golf club can offer you.

You’ve Come a Long Way Baby – Equipment 2014

Clubs and balls have come a long way in the past 20 years or so and the latest and greatest golf equipment is always a favorite hot stove league topic. So, with spring at least in sight, it’s worthwhile taking a look at what the 2014 models tell us about trends in design and technology. The reader can draw his or her own conclusions but recognize change is being driven by the very nature of the competitive equipment marketplace and there’s no sure way to know which new design or exotic material will give us the next big performance improvement.

Some may argue Callaway Golf’s Big Bertha Driver in 1991 or even the first driver using titanium in the clubhead, Mizuno Golf’s Pro Ti 110 driver in 1995, marked the beginning of the modern golf club. However the fact is it was a golf ball 14 years ago that pushed club makers to rethink designs and materials.

Acushnet Co.’s brand, the Titleist Pro V1, wasn’t the first urethane covered multi-layer solid core golf ball but coming from the market leader it had an immense impact. The Pro V1 hit the fairways in October 2000 at the PGA Tour Invensys Classic and if there ever was a “game changer,” it was this ball. Compared to the then standard balata covered wound construction it went “miles further” and in no time almost every player on Tour was teeing up a Pro V1. Recreational players followed the pros lead and that served to further widen Titleist’s already large lead in the ball category, a position they still confidently hold.

To take advantage of the performance gains brought by the Pro V1, drivers had to improve as well. The Big Bertha clubhead was steel but makers soon switched to an “exotic” metal from the aerospace industry, lighter and stronger titanium. It allowed clubheads to increase two and a half times in size making them much easier to hit while at the same time, along with shafts made of graphite fibers half the weight of steel, kept overall club weight down to where they were still playable by recreational players. Further help came for golfers in 2004 when TaylorMade Golf introduced the R7 Quad driver and for the first time players had the opportunity to modify ball flight by adjusting the weighting of the clubhead.

For the coming season the drivers from every major manufacturer have some method of player adjustment and the hottest ones have pushed clubhead weight even lower and more forward towards the clubface. When combined with clubface coefficient of restitution values near the limit set by the USGA the result is more distance because the ball has much less spin. However trajectory is also lower, a lot lower, so to maximize results touring pros are using drivers with lofts 1 degree higher than before and in some cases 1.5 degrees. Recreational players have also seen the need to ratchet up the loft on their low and forward weighted drivers to achieve the correct trajectory for the most yardage from the tee.

Two major players in the driver category have introduced a track for a sliding weight, one on the sole of the clubhead and the other on the rear. The principle is to make adjustments of the ball’s curvature tendency more precise and at the same time easier to do. Loft in both is adjusted by use of a sleeve on the hosel.

Fairways and hybrids are taking advantage of the materials such as titanium and designs until now used only in drivers. Clubfaces producing shots with relatively low spin and trajectory are forcing players, just as with drivers, to go to higher lofts. One manufacturer has been making use of a slot behind the clubface to achieve increased flex and therefore distance for some time but now is complementing that with the lower and more forward weight placement. Look also for a continuation of the trend to longer shafts since, all things being equal, they produce more clubhead speed and distance. But the average recreational player should be cautious about going to more length because just as with drivers they are harder to hit and control.

An interesting trend is the appearance of game-improvement category clubs particularly irons in the bags of touring pros. With the advancements in the casting process used to manufacture heads of irons there are several brands available that offer the same feel as forged irons but with game improvement irons hit-ability. In fact in a blindfold test they are impossible to tell apart. Add to that the development of forged heads with larger cavities more like game-improvement models and the difference between the two types, i.e., player’s models and game improvement models, has become blurred.

Look for titanium in the faces of irons for the same reasons as in woods, more distance but the real story is a bit more complex. The latest, most popular irons have a combination of larger, deeper faces which makes for more rebound at impact as well as having the center of gravity repositioned much more forward than is traditional. These irons produce a higher launch angle and a lower spin rate producing more speed giving higher flying shots. Therefore they give more distance and because they land more vertically and don’t run as much they are more accurate. Some models have slots behind the faces to further enhance their performance so taken all together the average golfer should see a significant increase in distance with a higher and more controllable ball flight.

Putters continue to exhibit an astonishing variety of design and the now familiar extreme perimeter weighting has blossomed into several new configurations. There is one trend though that may be around for a while, the counterbalance putter, a response to the ruling by the USGA that disallowed anchored putting strokes effective in 2016.

The principle is to put a heavy weight at the grip end of the putter to “counterbalance” the weight of the putter head and provide a pendulum-like stroke, a main feature of belly and chest anchored putters. Counterbalance putters are usually two to three inches longer than usual and gripped down to produce the desired effect during the stroke. There is also at least one of the new putters that uses a super lightweight grip on an almost featherweight shaft which creates the opposite effect to counterbalancing and we’ll have to wait a while to see which design, if either of them, becomes popular.

----------------Cutlines----------

Billy Andrade, a Titleist staff player, put the Pro V1 in play the first week it was introduced in October 2000 and won the Invensys Classic in Las Vegas.

The Titleist Pro V1 and complimentary model Pro V1x are still on top, a position they have held for over a decade.

The first Big Bertha driver from Callaway Golf in 1991.

Mizuno Golf introduced the first driver making use so titanium in the clubhead, the Pro Ti 110, in 1995.

Another milestone in driver technology occurred in 2004 when TaylorMade Golf brought out the R7 Quad driver with player adjustable weights in the clubhead.

TaylorMade Golf has the #1 driver with their SLDR model that’s been on the market since August 2013. It has a revolutionary track in the sole for a 20 gram sliding weight to adjust the draw or fade bias.

Callaway Golf’s Big Bertha driver has a sliding weight at the rear of the clubhead.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

'Deja vu' in McDowell's second comeback win

'Deja vu' in McDowell's second comeback win

"I was dead and buried, both days," Graeme McDowell said after Thursday's win over Hideki Matsuyama in come-from-behind fashion -- the second such in as many rounds at the 2014 WGC-Accenture Match Play.

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What You Get from a Tristate Golfer Magazine Subscription

If you are an avid golf fan in the Tristate, you should not miss any part of the Tristate golf updates. One good way to do this is to subscribe in a Tristate golfer magazine. The magazine releases a volume every quarter. So, what do you get when you have a subscription? What’s in it for you then? Here are some of the wonderful things you will enjoy if you choose to become a Tristate Golfer subscriber.

First of all, you will get excellent information about the Tristate Golf. The magazine features everything about the event including its history and the latest updates. Your subscription will allow to you keep in touch with what is new and what is yet to happen around the Tristate Golf area. The magazine usually features every event that is held in the Tristate golf course. You will be able to hear news about your favorite golfers in town.

Not only are you updated with the latest news and upcoming events in the area, you will also be informed about other activities like destination golf. Even news about the news open is covered in the magazine. Every piece of news that has something to do about golf is practically in the magazine. The magazine covers details coming from the Philadelphia Area courses, Harrisburg-Lancaster Course, South Jersey Courses, Maryland courses, and Delaware courses.

The best thing that you’ll ever get with your subscription is that you will be privileged to be updated about the latest area golf specials. If you are always looking for great deals in golf, the magazine often features golf discounts for their customers. Your subscription will be able to give you hints about the sways to help you get a good deal out of your tournaments. The magazine even features issues about discounts for gold materials.

The magazine has an online website where you can see previews of the things that is happening in the Tristate. It is actually a portal to what you can actually see in the magazine. If you get to enjoy and benefit from the online articles and newsfeed, then you will most definitely benefit a lot from the magazine subscription itself.

You can even enjoy watching instructional videos provided by the website. You can get useful tips from Lou Guzzi and Adrienne Hogan straight from the golf club area. There is nothing better than any of those free instructions. You get to learn about these and more from your magazine subscription. You can actually get one and enjoy a copy today! Most of all, you can take pleasure having the magazine with your family and friends as well.

One of the best things that you will benefit from getting a Tristate Golfer magazine is the fact that the news are brought to you by the most outstanding  magazine contributors in the area. Not only those, the news and articles are coming straight from award winning journalist and exceptional analysts of the sport. You can rest assured that newsfeeds are brought to you fresh and with absolute quality.

Tour Tracker: Northern Trust Open, 1st round

Tour Tracker: Northern Trust Open, 1st round

As Dustin Johnson, Jason Dufner and Matt Kuchar try to keep Jimmy Walker from winning his fourth tournament of the 2013-14 wraparound season, Justin Rose makes his return from an injury. Follow our Tour Tracker for the first round's top developments!

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RGAA Making Golf Fun

Let’s see -- on any given day a group of average golfers, maybe even the group you’re in, is likely to improve the ball’s lie even in the fairway or wipe off some mud before hitting a shot. Look in their bags and you could well find 15, 16 or more clubs and the ball they tee up might be one of those deemed “non-conforming” not to mention the driver they’re hitting.

As the round progresses mistakenly hitting the wrong ball is a matter of, “Gee whiz, I didn’t really do that--did I?” and re-hitting rather than adding on penalty strokes. Once on the green many of our friends will putt with the pin still in the hole, though to be honest, I have never seen ladies doing this, only men.

And to cap everything off, after discovering the ball has taken a sharp left turn into water or especially if it has swerved to the right out of bounds, there’s no long walk back to the tee. A ball gets dropped near where it disappeared and a stroke is added to the score.

That is the reality of golf today and it’s definitely not the way the game should be played as envisioned in the rules set by the United States Golf Association. For most of us, to play by these “tournament rules” during a casual round on a Tuesday after work just doesn’t happen and in fact the vast majority never play a single round strictly following the USGA Rules of Golf.

Add to this another bit of reality no one seems to want to talk about. Golf associations around the country are using scores from rounds played as described above to calculate “official” GHIN Handicaps. Handicaps which therefore are wildly incorrect. But then this may not be a really huge deal since less than 15 percent of golfers have a USGA Handicap though they are the ones who tend to play in events requiring one.

Enter the Recreational Golf Association of America, the brain child of Dave Felker who believes the rules you play your round by should be determined by fairness, the spirit of the game and your group of players.

For example some of RGAA Rules say:

“The ball may be lifted, cleaned and placed without penalty at any time.”

“If the wrong ball is played the shot/s should be replayed from their original position/s.  There is no penalty for hitting the wrong ball.”

“The Rules of Play are to be agreed upon in advance by the players before teeing off on the first hole. The highest authority for settling disputes is the foursome or player’s group. They may ultimately decide what is right under all circumstances.  Players may agree to add, waive or amend any Rule.”

“Any commercially available balls and clubs are deemed acceptable for play.”

“If a ball is lost a player has two (2) minutes to find it. The penalty for spending more than two (2) minutes searching for a ball is one stroke. The penalty for spending additional time beyond four minutes is one additional stroke.”

“If the ball is in a “non-standard” condition for the location, it is acceptable to improve the position or lie of the ball one club length except on the putting green. Such “non-standard” conditions include divots, bare or uneven turf, temporary water, cart paths, sprinkler heads or hoses and unraked sand in a hazard. The ball may be lifted and placed one club length but not closer to the hole. When improving a player’s lie the lie should not be moved from the rough to the fairway, from the fringe to the green or out of a bunker to the rough or fairway.”

“The flagstick does not need to be removed unless it is requested by the player who is chipping or putting.”

“If a ball comes to rest out of bounds, in a water hazard or lateral hazard, the ball should be placed as near as possible to where it went out of bounds or entered the hazard and not closer to the hole.”

Sounds like a reasonable, realistic way to play though admittedly some will want to stick with the USGA Rules and these more realistic rules are definitely not the way to run serious competitions. But that’s not what the RGAA is about. It’s about what average golfers do in an average round and how to help them have fun, probably the single biggest way to both retain and attract players to the game.

Felker was part of the original group that developed Callaway Golf’s ball business and is now president of Polara Golf makers of balls and drivers that do not conform to the USGA standards for equipment performance…on purpose. For example the Polara ball is designed with a dimple pattern that makes the ball tend to fly straight, self-correcting the hooks and slices that plague recreational golfers.

The Polara Advantage driver is also outside the “Rules of Golf,” the ones determined by the USGA and the R&A. The Advantage’s clubhead is too large making it much more forgiving on mishits but most significantly the clubface has too much rebound. This excess trampoline-effect means the Advantage hits the ball a lot longer than the conforming drivers made by the major manufacturers.

Executive director of the RGAA John Hoeflich, is an industry insider who presently runs his own consulting firm but has held senior positions at Tommy Armour Golf, Titleist and TaylorMade-adidas Golf plus had a stint as president of Nickent Golf.

Both men see the Recreational Golf Association as an alternative to the USGA not as a replacement. For example Hoeflich wrote in answer to a question concerning the RGAA getting into the calculation of handicaps, “We are continuing to refine our plans. I think in the short run we won’t offer handicaps but might offer to track ‘average score’ for members. When you think about it, this is the way most golfers calculate the differential between their abilities. We will encourage all golfers to obtain a USGA handicap and post their scores as usual.”

Like other things having to do with the RGAA a realistic approach moving past restrictions for average golfers with the focus of making golf fun for recreational and casual participants. Those who enjoy golf but have no needed to play by the same rules as professionals and elite amateurs will enjoy a visit toRGAA.org and might even consider becoming a member. There’s no cost.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

Fun Family Activities to Join in While You’re Near the Tristate Golf Course Area

While you work on a very tight schedule every day, allow yourself some relaxing escapades in the Tristate. There are absolutely many ways you can get out from the serious work mode in the regions of New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. As nature has given so much to the Tristate, it is just right that you enjoy it for yourself and your family as well. One of the good things your can do is to treat yourself a relaxing expedition at the Tristate Golf Course Area.

What are the things you and your family can do at the golf course area? First of all, since you’re already at the golf course area, you might as well witness the tournaments being held in the place. Especially if you and your family are golf enthusiasts, you will definitely have a good time to spend at the Tristate golf course. If you get lucky, you can even rub elbows with your favorite golf superstars in the place.

Another thing you can do in the area is to become a member in a Tristate Golf Club. There are several clubs you can join into. If you love golf and is already an expert in the game, then you should definitely need to be in the club. You can enjoy a lot more privileges if you become a member.

If you are a fan of the sport but would want to learn and practice it, be trained and become a professional golfer. There are professional trainers around the Tristate golf course who can help you out and bring out the best golf skills hidden in you. Who knows, you might be the next big thing in the golf community. If you are not after becoming a professional player, you can still learn and play the sport for fun.

One of the best things that the Tristate golf course offers to sports enthusiasts is the opportunity to participate in tournaments. You can challenge your skills and beat other enthusiasts. This will not only improve your sportsmanship, it will also develop your skills in the sport. Not only that, you can bring in the entire family to support and cheer for you. Isn’t that just a great moment to spend it with your family?

Being in the place is not only about golf and golf. You can also dine and shop at the best places in the region. You can enjoy a sumptuous meal in luxurious steak houses located just around the area. If you wish to experience the taste of the Tristate, you have to try out the different dining places in the location. Enjoy the great food that the place offers while taking pleasure with the activities you can do at the same time.

If you don’t want to take too much action, you can sit back, relax and enjoy the scenic view of the golf course. Just feel the fresh air and savoring the beauty of nature. Take pleasure in getting the gifts from Mother Nature. That is something that you would not normally get while you are busy in the office.

Another thing is you can subscribe to a Tristate golf magazine and be updated with the news in the area. The next time you want to visit or take a break and stay in the Tristate golf course area, you will know what to do. You can get information about new openings, offers, and promos. Also get updated with the latest news on the sport and get the chance to discover new activities you can enjoy around the area. 

Tour Tracker: AT&T Pebble Beach, Rd. 1

Tour Tracker: AT&T Pebble Beach, Rd. 1

Graeme McDowell returns to Pebble for the first time, Phil Mickelson plays in back-to-back weeks and Dustin Johnson is paired with future father-in-law Wayne Gretzky at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Follow along with the Tracker now!

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