News today out of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that the golf mecca is opening a Hall of Fame. It will be located at Pine Lakes Country Club in its new Hall of Fame Garden, near the club's renovated clubhouse.
Four to six people who've played significant roles in the Myrtle Beach golf industry will be inducted in the Hall of Fame's inaugural year. No names have been announced.
Pine Lakes opened in 1927 and is the birthplace of Sports Illustrated magazine. Originally Ocean Forest Golf Club, Pine Lakes is also the area's first golf resort. This March it reopens after a 20-month restoration headed by Craig Schreiner.
A couple weeks ago Jay Hubbard from Tour Edge paid us a visit. He brought a bag full of their latest offerings: new XCG irons; GeoMax 2 Driver, fairway woods and hybrids; and many, many more.
We hit the clubs for awhile. I was a bit rusty, but I liked what I saw.
When we got to the JMAX Draw Iron-Woods I almost didn't want to hit them. After all, I'm a blade man with a low handicap. Really, what's the point of hitting these game improvement sticks?
Shhoomph.
That's what it sounded like when I hit them. If it isn't one of the most forgiving clubs I've ever hit, it's certainly a close second. At that moment I had a vision of me at 65 swinging a heck of a lot slower than I do now and with a bad back, hips and arthritis. And probably hitting an iron-wood so I can still enjoy the game.
If you fit that description, you should seriously consider testing a set of iron-woods. I think you'll be amazed at how forgiving they really are.
I felt like it would be difficult to win the team if you didn't win a tournament; and it proved to be the case, except for Ben Curtis who played terrific at the very end of the year... and Jim Furyk who has not won this year but plays consistently well every week.
I took a hard look at Kevin Streelman. I took a hard look at a whole bunch of players. You know, like I said, it's hard for me to justify why the guys didn't make the team. I can't really justify, you know, why I didn't pick who I didn't pick. I can just tell you why I picked the guys that I did pick. There's a lot of guys that deserve to be on this team and there's a lot of guys that were really close to making it.
I think that...a bomber is probably going to like the course. There's not a lot of rough. The first cut in spots is going to be pretty wide. So does it favor anybody in particular, any team in particular? I don't know. I just felt like this event, I just didn't want anyone to feel handcuffed off the tee well, I mean, I don't care if Europe feels handcuffed, but yeah, I don't want our guys to feel handcuffed.
I don't think there's any advantage one way or another, just the way I set up the course personally, you know, Europe I think has been able to exploit an advantage trying to neutralize powerful teams. We don't nicely have a super powerful team at this point but we have a strong team that I'm proud of and some guys hit it long and some guys hit it straight. We'll see how it plays out.
...it will be unique to be... on our home soil as underdogs, but clearly, The European Team is strong. I think it's one of the strongest teams I've ever seen them bring across here. We will be an underdog. We are missing Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest player on earth well, not arguably; he is the greatest player on earth. Arguably the greatest player ever. That's a big blow to us. I like the team that we have and I'm really confident with who we have, but I think it's confident that Europe has a terrific match play record and team track record and we are going to be underdogs in this event and I think it's okay to be the underdog. Somebody has to be the underdog and it's very rare that it's evenly matched or a pick 'em. And I don't think this is going to be a pick 'em.
I'm going to have an open phone line to Tiger Woods during the event. I didn't think it was fair to ask Tiger to participate in the selection process in any way. But I am kind of curious how he feels as the event unfolds and as things unfold throughout the week. He's really intelligent and he's a great golf mind, so I'm looking forward to talking to Tiger.
Woody [Austin] is an exceptional person and a terrific player. I've said all along, I don't want to try to justify why I didn't pick anybody that I didn't pick. He would have been a terrific pick, but there are a lot of guys who would have been terrific picks. I just want to stick to my guns on this and just try to justify the reasons why I really like those guys. There are a lot of players that could have been picked for this team. I just chose to go the direction that I've decided.
I really haven't given it that much thought, whether he's [Tiger Woods] going to want to come or whether I want him to come or any of that. I want Tiger to get better, and I want to watch Tiger on TV live. I'm tired of watching him on tape win all these tournaments. I want to see him win some tournaments live again. I'm pulling for Tiger to get better and return to form. I think the game needs Tiger and misses Tiger. I'm going to really miss that Tiger is not going to be there and Elin and the baby. It's one of my great regrets of this Ryder Cup that he's not going to be a participant in these matches. Other than that, I haven't really put a lot of thought into he's going to come or whether I want him to come.
The swing that's currently leading the FedEx Cup. Notice how Vijay keeps moving? His body remains active until about a second before he starts his swing. Too many amateurs freeze over the ball. Not Singh. His "waggle" is in his feet. Then he starts his swing with a little kick start with his left knee. This engages him and makes it easier to make a fluid swing. Think Jack Nicklaus.
Remember last year when we were trying to figure out how the Fed Ex Cup actually worked? Well, this year has proven itself almost as confusing thanks to a few revisions that enable players who play well the opportunity to move further up the point tally. (For the official details, click HERE.)
What gripes me most is, despite the few ticky-tack revisions made in '08, the players who earn high FedEx Cup starting points by performing well over the course of the PGA Tour season can still realistically skip an event and go on to win the Fed Ex Cup ( just like Tiger, who only played 3 out of 4 events last year and still won.) To me, that's just plain ridiculous. What kind of race is this if you can sit out 25% of the laps and still cross the checkered line first? Hmm, that's like skipping the Great 8 and marching right into the Final Four, in my opinion.
Nevertheless, at least the golf is going to be good. The next four events are all played on strong, fun-to-watch layouts, including The Barclay's interesting course switcheroo at Ridgewood CC, The Deutsche Bank in Boston, the BMW in St. Louis and the Tour Championship in Atlanta. I like 'em all, despite the fact that I think it'd be a lot more interesting if the events spread the country. One in the west, two in the middle and finish on the east coast. Now that would be interesting, and also would be quite appropriate considering FedEx's breadth in shipping packages all across this great country of ours.
Nevertheless again, as for my pick. Steve Lowery? He'd probably have to win at least 2 events to have a shot (I'm not even going to try to scientifically validate that, it's just a guess.) But if not him, you have to go with the kind of players who can obviously string together a series of good rounds without too many blow ups. I.e., flashy, "go for broke" players aren't going to fair as well in the FedEx Cup as more conservative players might, so I'm going to go with players like Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh and Geoff Ogilvy and Stuart Appleby. Now, I want to pick Padraig Harrington, but seriously, what's he have left to prove? He should be the Player of the Year. I also want to say Anthony Kim has a shot, but that'd just be too good to be true.
Finally, I can't help but admit the player to watch has to be Sergio Garcia. You can pretty much assume he's a longshot, based on his streaky putting stroke alone, but it's his attitude that's most hindering. If not for his bouts with poor sportsmanship, he'd probably be more respected and in turn, a more confident contender and likely a major event winner already.
August 1st saw the opening of yet another Hot Stix Golf facility, this time at Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. It marks the company's first foray into golf-mad Orange County.
Clients can expect cutting-edge, custom club fitting technology on Tijeras' outdoor practice tee.
A Tour-Fitting rings up for $125 for woods, $125 for irons and $50 for the flatstick.
"This area of Southern California lies at the heart of the golf equipment manufacturing industry," says Hot Stix chairman Tom Graunke. "It only makes sense that Hot Stix moves into the neighborhood."
David McLay Kidd's much anticipated Tetherow Golf Club is now open for play. One early reviewer describes the 7,298 yard Par 72 course as a "...wee bit of Scotland/Ireland...in the middle of Bend, Oregon."
The Scottish-born McLay Kidd designed Bandon Dunes on the Oregon Coast when he was just 27 years old and is also well known for his Castle Course creation at St. Andrews.
"We set out to create something that is truly unique-from the fescue grassing plan...to the grass hollows, rugged features and creative green complexes," he says of Tetherow, which overlooks the Cascade peaks.
*The public has a small window of opportunity to play Tetherow as it has plans to become a private resort with an anticipated 379 homesites.
After a false start here, Harrington takes a good rip at it. That's what I like the most about his swing and style of play. He doesn't leave anything in the bag. In my experience, I see too many amateurs staying on their right side (i.e. not transferring their weight to their left side). Not the case with Harrington AT ALL.
Wilson Staff Advisory Member Padraig Harrington Becomes 2008 PGA Champion,Scores Back-to-Back Major Wins
Victory marks 61st major championship title won with Wilson irons
CHICAGO, August 11, 2008 - Wilson Staff Advisory Member Padraig Harrington overcame Sergio Garcia and a grueling 36-hole Sunday to capture The 90th PGA Championship title at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. This is the 61st major tournament title won with Wilson Staff irons, and marks Harrington's second major in a row and third out of the last six. He is only the 4th player in history to win the Open Championship and PGA Championship in the same year.
Wilson Staff equipment dominated Harrington's bag en route to his victory: Dd6+ driver, FYbrid 5-wood, Wilson Staff 3 Hybrid (19 degree), Ci7 series 4-iron, Pi series 5-iron through pitching wedge, and prototype Tw9 wedges (54 and 60 degrees).
Harrington had an impressive final two days, shooting a 66 in the rain delayed third round followed by another 66 to secure the win. Harrington shot a 32 on the back nine, just as he did at Royal Birkdale last month, and he came up with clutch shot-making throughout the final round. He chipped to 3-feet for birdie on the 12th, hit a 5-iron to 12-feet for birdie on the 13th, rolled in a 12-foot par on the 16th to catch Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis, took the lead by hitting it to 8-feet for birdie on the par-3 17th, then closed out the Spaniard with an 18-foot par for a two-shot victory.With the win, Harrington becomes the first European player to win the PGA Championship since the tournament began using stroke play in 1958.
Harrington is number three in the official World Golf Rankings and he is Europe's number one player. Harrington will also be a contender to win Player of the Year honors, which will be determined later this year. He is just the fourth player ever to win the Open Championship and the PGA Championship in the same year. "We continue to be energized by Padraig's performance and are thrilled to play a role in his historic achievement," said Tim Clarke, General Manager, Wilson Golf. "Padraig's drive and determination is an inspiration to our entire organization, and is a testament to his competitive nature.
We’ll be seeing a lot more of Padraig in the championship circle."In accepting the Wannamaker Trophy, Harrington alluded to the close competition that marked the last three holes in particular. "I think I was just willing to risk it all at that stage," he said. "You've got to get focused in that situation and the adrenaline and pressure help with that. You just take it on and give it a go."
