Rickie Fowler — the orange-clad, homemade-swinging, former motocross-racing, current golf phenom, fan favourite — is finally a winner on the PGA TOUR. On the first playoff hole of the Wells Fargo Championship on Sunday, Fowler knocked a wedge to four feet and calmly sank the birdie putt for his maiden TOUR victory on a tough Quail Hallow venue over Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points. The twittersphere was flooded with well-wishes for Fowler, one of the tour’s most popular young players. The victory can only bode well for Fowler’s major aspirations as Quail Hallow is set to host the PGA Championship in 2017, and arguably, he will have to get past McIlroy in order to win then, too. In the age of instantaneous, well, everything, the golf world seemed to be waiting forever for this victory to come. But, one must remember Fowler’s still only 23 years old. This is only the beginning of a career that is projected to be brighter than his Sunday ensembles.
Rickie vs. Rory: The Kids Are Alright
With all due respect to D.A. Points (or ‘Daaa Points’ as my girlfriend called him on Sunday), the playoff at the Wells Fargo Championship was all about Rickie Fowler vs. Rory McIlroy. The latter already a multiple winner on TOUR, including a major, and the former always having to answer the elephant-in-the-room question about when he would finally break through to win one. That question will no longer need to be asked with Fowler prevailing on Sunday. Fowler is more the Palmer to McIlroy’s Nicklaus than Phil ever was to Tiger because, or so it seems, Fowler and McIlroy actually like each other. It’s impossible to walk a course at a tournament where Fowler is playing without seeing kids – both boys and girls – wearing any selection of Fowler-inspired clothing, I don’t believe there is another player on TOUR who would inspire my girlfriend to high-five me after a victory than Fowler, and rarely do you now hear of anyone (young or old) who doesn’t like McIlroy, too. Hopefully the next time we see these two go at it head-to-head is sooner rather than later, but perhaps at the Ryder Cup would be most appropriate. Youth is served, and the TOUR is reaping the benefits.
The (Eighth) Cut Is The Deepest
I wrote last week that whatever Tiger’s result is at Quail Hallow, no matter what happens, there will be a story following. I was somewhat correct in this assumption, as Tiger ended up missing the cut by one stroke and the questions came back about whether he really was making progress with his swing, or if all of the off-course struggles had finally caught up with him. There was also the story about whether he got a favourable ruling after his ball mysteriously disappeared from the crowd and he was awarded a free drop. He’s back teeing it up this week at The PLAYERS Championship to try again. I don’t think anyone could pinpoint one thing that is wrong with Tiger’s swing that will result in an instant change of fortunes – some forget that he did already win by five strokes at Bay Hill earlier this year – but as he says, “it’s a process” and I believe he just needs to play more tournament golf, forget all the swing thoughts, and just go out and have fun. It certainly looked like as though Rory and Rickie were following this mantra on Sunday.
Lonely Island
The tour moves back down south to Florida to the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass for the 39th playing of The PLAYERS Championship. The famous island green of the 17th hole has inspired many other imitators around the world, but none strike fear into the heart of PGA TOUR pros quite like this one. Although the hole has become no more than a wedge or short iron for TOUR pros of late, it’s an absolute pressure-cooker when you’re hanging onto the lead on Sunday and need to hit such a specific shot. Although criticized for being a ‘gimmick,’ I think it adds something special to the tournament. Tough to pick against McIlroy again to contend this week, despite the fact that he opted to skip the tournament last year. I also like Nick Watney to bounce back after a disappointing Sunday at Quail Hallow and Phil Mickelson who is fresh off of his Hall-of-Fame induction on Monday.
It took 164 tries, including two near-misses in previous playoffs, but the calm, cool and collected Jason Dufner is finally a winner on the PGA TOUR. He holds off Ernie Els for the victory in a playoff. Dufner and Els both finished at 19-under, sharing the tournament record for low scores. It was Els’ putter that betrayed him again as he missed a birdie putt 72nd hole for the outright win, forcing extra holes, along with a 6-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win. Dufner collected $1.15 million for his efforts this past week, which should definitely help out him and his bride-to-be, set to be married this weekend in Alabama.
It’s pronounced “De-LET”
Graham DeLaet’s name was only mispronounced once this weekend but the broadcast teams should start getting used to saying it, especially after a really impressive finish by the Weyburn, Saskatchewan native. DeLaet shared the lead heading into the fourth round and posted a solid 2-under 70 to finish in a tie for fourth. Fellow Canuck David Hearn, coming off a t-11 last week, finished t-24. Richard Scott, another Canadian competing on the Nationwide Tour, also finished t-4 at his tournament, and took to Twitter to congratulate DeLaet.
Tiger Woods’ Social Conference
Late last week, Woods announced on Twitter he would occasionally bypass the traditional press conference with media members and strictly answer questions from fans via a video posted to his website. Monday afternoon the first video was posted. Aside from being pretty dry, I really don’t mind Woods attempting to reach out to his fans via social media (key word: attempting. Social media is supposed to be an organic engagement tool, not something your agent suggests would be good to use), and I think this is actually a positive thing. Could use a couple of tweaks to the format, but it seems as though the people who are most ‘offended’ by this are the guys in the media who, essentially, got the snub from Woods this week. Woods stays as the most interesting ticket in golf because week-in and week-out, he could win, miss the cut, withdraw because of injury, or just finish t-15 and nothing would be surprising. But, we’ll keep coming back for more.
Quail hunting season
The PGA TOUR heads to North Carolina for the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hallow this week, a course, and event, that has gained a lot of notoriety over the last few seasons. Past champions include Rory McIlroy, Jim Furyk, reigning RBC Canadian Open champ Sean O’Hair, and the aforementioned Woods. McIlroy is looking to regain his world no.1 ranking after Luke Donald took it over last week, so look for him to contend. I also have some good feelings this week about Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson, and the roommates Rickie Fowler (a sixth and t-16 his last two starts at Quail Hallow) and Cameron Tringale (three straight top-10 finishes the last three weeks).
I’ve always enjoyed the beginning of the week and reading the various recaps from around the golf world. Sifting through the various opinions of writers from across the top golf media outlets in the world have definitely inspired me to try to write a weekly column here with my own thoughts. A fairly ambitious writing goal for me, but I’m excited to give it a try. Here we go…
Big Ben Wins Again –
Stop if you’ve heard this before: low-ranked golfer comes out of nowhere to win PGA Tour event. Sounds familiar, right? This weekend saw the return of Ben Curtis to the winner’s circle after a two-shot victory over Matt Every and John Huh (Huh? Exactly. Already a winner on the Tour this year) at the Valero Texas Open. If I was the TPC of San Antonio, I’d be worried of having Big Ben as my champion, as the tournaments that represented his two previous wins – the Booz Allen Classic and the 84 Lumber Classic – no longer exist. After basically disappearing after 2006, will this victory be a spring-board for a career resurgence at age 34 for Curtis? I’m not sure about this, but then again, he was ranked 396 in the world before winning the British Open, so really, anything can happen.
Saturday Night Fever –
No doubt another move by Kraig Kann to garner some more media attention – definitely an A+ so far for Kann in his new role as Chief Communications Officer – the LPGA started the Lotte Championship on Wednesday and finished on Saturday. It was an attempt to unclog the Sunday golf line-up of Nationwide, Champions and PGA Tour finishes all on one day. With some good rounds of golf producing a solid champion, Ai Miyazato, it was an interesting play and we’ll see if this is a format that gets adapted for more tournaments moving forward. Anything to help get more eyeballs on the tour will, I’m sure, be viewed as a positive.
My memory is muddy… what’s this river I’m in? –
The PGA Tour returns to Louisiana this week for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Also returning is newly crowned Masters champ Bubba Watson. Many are questioning whether Watson will be able to contend or even if he’s out from the haze of winning The Masters. A win, a top-10, or a missed cut wouldn’t surprise me at this point. But given his previous success on the course, I’m confident he’ll post a solid finish, but perhaps after a first round struggle. Getting back out there after winning a maiden major championship will be no easy task. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything.
Some Canadian content –
This week David Byrne, the Essex, Ontario native and winner of The Big Break: Indian Wells, will cash in his main prize and join the field in New Orleans. The little guy with the big swing is still looking for a driver, though, according to this piece from the Windsor Star. Hopefully things get sorted before Thursday… Great finish by David Hearn on Sunday. On his bag for the week was Mike Weir’s former caddie Brennan Little who Hearn says helped as he “knows what he’s doing”… Golf Digest released its list of the top 20 courses outside the U.S. last week, and two courses from Canada made the list, at no.10 St. Georges Golf & Country Club and at no.17 The National Golf Club of Canada. I know it’s a Top-20 around the world, but not far down on the list should be a couple of gems from both British Columbia and the east coast. Cabot Links, I’m sure, will start making headlines come next year…
It all started in mid-June of 2011, when representatives from the National Allied Golf Associations (NAGA) took to Parliament Hill to comment on the release of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s new budget and advocate for bringing tax fairness to the game of golf in Canada.
As first reported by my friend Scott Macleod, the editor of Flagstick, due to a 1971 tax reform, the Canada Revenue agency does not allow deductions for expenses incurred by business people who choose to entertain clients at a golf course. And yet, a corporate box rental at a sports arena, other client gifts, and annual dues to a business club can be deducted 100%.
There is a disconnect between recreational activities, and a group on the Hill, led by NDP MP Randall Garrison is looking to change that.
In combination with an all-party caucus and the NAGA lobbying efforts, a private member’s bill has been put forth by Garrison titled An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (Golfing Expenses).
Jeff Calderwood, the NAGA government relations spokesperson, said in a press release shortly after the budget was released, that “the golf industry in Canada suffers from an outdated 40-year-old tax policy that singles out golf businesses in an unfair manner.”
Someone like Minister Flaherty will of course argue that there are more pressing matters at hand than the request to have golf become tax deductible, but the fact of the matter is, there is evidence and documentation pulled together that golf is actually Canada’s most played recreational sport.
Canada is home to approximately six million golfers, and 2500 golf courses and practice ranges. The game of golf accounts for an $11.3 billion contribution to the GDP each year. Not to mention being responsible for nearly 350,000 jobs for Canadians equating to about $7.6 billion in household income. The gross revenues are actually more than all ski facilities, fitness, sports centres, amusement parks, and other recreational industries combined.
This is not a flash-in-the-pan lobbying effort by a handful of radicals on a niche topic. Golf matters to Canadians of all income levels and is no longer a game for just a small portion of society.
Instead of being lumped into the group of ‘illicit escort services’ getting a zero per cent tax deduction, it should be grouped in with other sporting events and client services. More often than not, four hours on a golf course is where deals are made or broken.
The closeness of only four people for that amount of time will usually result in business talk. Talk that is not always guaranteed while sitting in a box at a sporting event.
Inspired by a similar post from Bob Weeks, editor at ScoreGolf magazine, I’ve written a note to my Member of Parliament John Carmichael, bringing forth the efforts of the NAGA and others.
It’s important to notice that the golf industry, from what I’ve read, is not looking for special treatment, but instead looking for an increase in fairness when it comes to business deductions.
How the powers-at-be decided what could or could not be included in that bucket was a decision made long before my time, but, I’m happy knowing that I can perhaps play a small part in a change today.
Vancouver has seen a lot these past 18 months or so, and could arguably be called the greatest sports city in Canada right now.
February 12, 2010 saw the beginning of the 21st Winter Olympiad, where Canada won the most gold medals ever. June, 2011 saw the hometown Canucks make a wild run to the Stanley Cup, only to lose in Game 7 at home. Then July 21-24 some of the world’s best golfers descended on Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club for the 2011 RBC Canadian Open.
Yes, it certainly has been quite the ride for the city of Vancouver of late and it was top of mind when thinking about a vacation destination for the final week of July.
Somehow, while visiting for five days, not a single drop of rain fell and the two rounds of golf played were unaffected.
Teased by the pros on Sunday while watching the final round of the RBC in person and enjoying the incredible scenery at Shaughnessy, the excitement was building if this was what was to be expected playing golf on the West Coast.
Everything just seems different there, but in the best of ways. InOntario, one does not see signs that say: “Be bear aware” causing someone be wary of walking into the extremely thick brush to try to retrieve a lost ball – which happened more than once on this trip.
The lushness of the greens and the crispness of the air provided a golfing atmosphere unlike any I had experienced before. The views of pristine water, coupled with cloud-covered mountain tops and sky-high trees of all kinds gave both courses unique layouts which punished errant shots but thoroughly rewarded the fairways-and-greens player.
For most of the trip I caught myself saying, to no one in particular, ‘wow’ as I became overcome by not only the scenery, but of the eerie calm which seems to take over the land in rural Vancouver. A stark contrast to some of the layouts that I’ve been accustomed to playing.
Teeing off early in the morning both days allowed for the two courses to be at their most gorgeous – the sun rising over the tree tops, the misty dew rising off the freshly cut greens, and the light breeze coming up and down each fairway just encouraged you to breathe deep and take it all in.
Seymour Golf and Country Club
Seymour, located only 30 minutes from downtownVancouver, is a semi-private facility open to the public on Mondays and Fridays. The approximately 60-year-old club is immaculately groomed and is an eloquent challenge for golfers of all kinds.
Located at the base of a mountain range inVancouver’s north shore – glimpses of Deep Cove are rare but beautiful sights on the back-9 – the golf course features narrows fairways and slick greens which only add to the challenge. Each green seemingly elevated just slightly which will encourage shot-making and skill at every turn.
Seymour Golf & CC - No.11
With a constant stream of people lining up around the first hole to tee off, the public certainly can not get enough of Seymourand somehow, the marshal and course facilitators kept things moving smoothly. Despite the seemingly never-ending line up of golfers, we did not experience a delay throughout the day – other than our own, invoked by a desire to enjoy the scenery.
As mentioned, the quick greens and tight fairways will test every part of your game, but each hole is so pristine that you feel encouraged to make good shots, as if you’re on a first date with the course and you’re hoping to impress it.
With the courses’ unique location, the wind whipped up and down through most of the day, causing club selection to usually go back-and-forth before finally settling on an appropriate one.
The whistling wind, along with elevation on nearly each fairway and green will definitely give low-handicap golfers a test, however, even the high-handicap player will enjoy the challenge that Seymour provides.
The 6,300 yard layout is at it’s best early on the back nine. The 11th, a 164 yard downhill par-3 is, on paper, a welcome hole after the very challenging 10th. However, one must be right on with their distance off the tee, otherwise they will get punished by either the creek running through the middle of the hole, or the small pond to the right of the green. The pin positions are usually, I’m told, tucked near that creek as if to taunt golfers to try to go for the flag.
Aim left and hope for a par, but also enjoy the stroll down the elevated tee box with a view of Deep Cove and the mountain range off in the distance.
Swan-E-Set Bay Resort & Country Club
For now, one could say that Swan-E-Set is best known as the host club for Happy Gilmore’s triumph over Shooter McGavin (Happy Gilmore was shot mostly at Swan-E-Set, along with another Vancouver-area golf course, Furry Creek), but for Vancouver area golfers, they know that the course is much more than just a Hollywood destination.
About an hour from downtown Vancouver, Swan-E-Set is located in the small rural town of Pitt Meadows, British Columbia where fresh berries grow in fields as far as the eye can see and the cathedral-like clubhouse stands out from miles away.
The Swan-E-Set Bay Resort features two courses, the ‘Resort’ course and the ‘Links’ course. Only getting a chance to play the ‘Resort’ course, the ‘Links’ has already been penciled in for a return trip.
Designed by Lee Trevino, both championship courses feed back into the massive 65,000 square foot clubhouse which truly remains the jewel of the resort. Trevino dug through the pristine and quiet Pitt River Valleyto provide golfers with views of some costal mountains along with natural streams, lakes, and forests which act as homes to much wildlife.
The peaceful surroundings of Swan-E-Set provide you with a very quiet golfing experience, the setting too pristine and calm to allow for any anger or frustration to surface. The only outside noise one will hear is the hovering of a helicopter or small plane across the farm-fields adjacent to the course (chalk the helicopter noise up to something you “don’t hear while playing golf in Ontario”).
Swan-E-Set Bay Resort - no.1
The course couldn’t get off to a better start with hole no.1. A long, 611 yard par-5 greets the golfers with trouble right and trouble left. Your best bet is to keep it down the left side of the fairway, in order to have a good line for a lay-up on the second shot around a slight dogleg. The green is guarded by bunkers to the left and a pond to the right and, as usual withVancouvergreens, one will have to contend with slight undulations.
Swan-E-Set is flat by comparison to other courses in the region, but remains in good shape. The sheer number of rounds that are played each year contribute to the few patches of the layout which could stand to be improved – but as a semi-private course that is always open to the public and resort guests, this is expected.
A friend who calls Vancouver home, mentioned that he played golf during the Olympics last year, and to me, it was odd to see that some courses have ‘Winter’ tee-times and prices. One can only assume that if a course is getting played 11, 12 months a year it will certainly go through some wear-and-tear.
******
Travelling there I packed my clubs in an OGIO straight jacket travel bag, my first time ever going on a plane with my children (err… golf clubs). Despite feeling slightly tentative at the softness of the bag, it provided my clubs with excellent protection there and back. The wheels on the bottom were smooth and the overall weight of the bag balanced out nicely with my normal travel bag. I was able to fit my set of clubs inside, along with two pairs of shoes, and, without question, I could have fit in more. I did feel the need to wrap my clubs in a towel and then put them into the bag for added protection but I’m not sure if it would have needed it. As the old adage goes though: better to be safe than sorry.
If you’re not bringing your clubs with you, not to worry, as both aforementioned courses have a selection of rental clubs for use. A small mention of being from the GTA gave a friend (who didn’t bring his clubs) the premium set for the basic price at Seymour, and at Swan-E-Set, the pro shop attendant brought out a shiny new bag full of the 2011 line-up of Taylormade clubs making me think that perhaps I should have left my clubs at home, too.
Vancouver continues to grow as a bustling metropolis inCanada, and hosting the Olympics certainly helped that. I was lucky enough to spend five days inNorth Vancouverwith a friend, but any of the hotels in the downtown core will allow for relatively simple drives to the multitude of golf courses in the region. The weather was also a welcome change from the mid-30 degree temperatures I’d been experiencing in Toronto, which made everything – from golfing to sightseeing – all that more memorable.
This past weekend I took my girlfriend golfing for the first time. It was… many things: interesting for sure, bug-infested, a little wet, but a lot of fun.
Outfitted in a turquoise polo shirt (“Because it’s the colour of Tiffany’s!”) a matching FootJoy glove, and a Titleist hat (“I like this Adam Scott guy”), she was ready to hit the links.
And I knew the perfect course.
Located in Clarendon,Ontario(approximate population: 1000, off Highway 7 near Sharbot Lake), there is a 1,100-yard track called Canadian Shield Executive Golf Club.
Dug out of theforestofTumblehome Lodge(formally called “Tumblehome Lodge Golf Club”) this little piece of golfing heaven is the one place in the world that has arguably seen every level of the game played on it.
There are nine holes, each of them a par-3 ranging from 73 yards to 120. The course record is even-par, 27. There is no dress code. There are no tee boxes. The greens are longer than most fairways.
But there are memories.
I played my first-ever round of golf here, at the age of 11. After a summer of batting around a wiffle ball with my grandad’s oldWilson8-iron, I was finally ready to play.
I took my borrowed set of women’s clubs (persimmon driver and everything) and off my grandad and I went.
Somehow, we made it around the little layout unscathed.
Twice.
Not only did I have my grandad get a cart, but I made him play 18. He didn’t complain and I still proudly hang that scorecard in my bedroom – the best ‘100’ I ever shot.
I studied that scorecard for months, just itching to get back out there and try again. I labeled each hole with what club I should to hit off the tee and analyzed where I should be hitting the ball on the little illustrated drawings of each hole.
We would always return to Canadian Shield each summer, and despite how good I got at the game, going back there to play was just as fun each time. .
The course has had its share of ups and downs; the land was even put up for auction in 2007. Thankfully, someone bought it and kept it as-is, save for the previously mentioned name change.
The course no longer has an official website, and when you read about it on the “Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox & Addington Community Resources Database” it’s described as being “located in the middle of the woods.”
Seems pretty accurate actually – I tried checking-in on Foursquareto the course this weekend and it didn’t show up on the “places nearby,” but, “Middle Of Nowhere” did.
It’s always hard to return ‘up country’ and find how cheap a round of golf is, especially being a city boy through and through (born and raised in the heart ofToronto). Canadian Shield Executive is no different.
Maybe the $15 price tag for nine holes seems a little steep at first glance, but how about the $25 to “play all day?” It was a new special added this year.
Would I have done it, had I the time?
Of course I would.
My girlfriend and I were the only ones on the course that Sunday, but only in the physical sense.
As we walked the same route I had walked every summer for the past 11 years, we were accompanied by all of those old memories of mine.
It’s one of those places where despite the bugs, the remote location, and the Astroturf tee-boxes there is still something that makes you want to come back again.
For the fourth straight week, the PGA TOUR went into a playoff late Sunday. The sun was setting but the golf was just heating up, as David Toms and K.J. Choi returned to the island green of the TPC Sawgrass’ world famous 17th hole to decide a winner of the 2011 Players Championship.
Choi took it with a par on the first extra hole, but the quality of the other golfers chasing him and Toms should not be overlooked.
Featured on the leaderboard was the best golfer in the world right now, Luke Donald, young American stars Hunter Mahan and Nick Watney, and wily veterans Davis Love III and Steve Stricker.
The Players is contested on the same pristine course each year, admired for it’s difficult water hazards and closing stretch of holes that, since it’s a public course, haunt everyone from tour pros to high-handicappers.
It’s an iconic stop on tour with a huge purse and a world-class field.
Sounds like a major championship, doesn’t it?
But let’s be serious, it’s not.
There are four major championships in golf. It’s always been that way, and it always will be.
Shot-making, pressure, weather (both good and bad), and tradition are combined into spectacles of the game of golf that fans can enjoy four times a year: in April, June, July, and August.
The Masters: time stands still, and each year everything stays the same, yet changes. The men of the game keep it their way, and they do it well. (They should go easy on Rickie Fowler and his backwards hat, but that’s for another post…)
The U.S.Open: the ultimate open championship. Anyone with a 1.4 handicap or lower (and $150 in their pocket for the entry fee) can enter and try to take on the beastly layouts the USGA has in store each year.
The British Open: the oldest championship in golf played on layouts where the game itself was invented. The only time this year that men will wake up early to watch something happen inBritain(unless their wife/girlfriend/mother/daughter got them up for that other British event…)
The PGA Championship: long regarded as the ‘little brother’ to the other Majors, the tournament has given us some of the most thrilling finishes in golf. Some won by the game’s best, others, won by the most exciting of underdogs.
One week earlier than the Players, there’s a tournament played inNorth Carolinaon a course that one day may host a major, and continually gets rave reviews from the pros.
But it’s not a major.
One week later than the Players inEnglandis the European Tour’s flagship event that has had some of the greatest European winners of all time hoist its trophy, played on a Ryder Cup-worthy course.
But it’s not a major.
Then, sandwiched between the two, is the Players championship itself which, as mentioned, boasts the richest purse on tour along with a great field.
But it’s not a major.
The Players may remain as the crown jewel of the PGA TOUR and since it’s inception in the early 1970s has always drawn comparisons to the ‘Big Four.’ But, many of the game’s best don’t even make the trek toFloridato play.
There aren’t any other tournaments that are more or less deserving of the title “Golf’s Fifth Major” because, well, that title shouldn’t exist, despite how golf writers like to allude to it as such.
The Players is a great tournament indeed, but a great tournament only it will stay.
After sitting through approximately six hours of Masters television coverage on Sunday, along with refreshing my Twitter stream every chance I had, I feel as though suffering through a Masters hangover that’s lasted until now is justified.
We had drama, we had intrigue, and we had suspense. We had shot-making, heart-breaking, life-changing.
And then, we had a winner.
Charl Schwartzel?
No disrespect to the man. It’s not like you can go around Augusta National like you had an actual hangover and win the green jacket. Schwartzel chipped-in from 100 feet on no.1 to make birdie. Then he stroked a wedge from 120 yards out for an eagle on no. 2.
Game on.
He made four straight birdies to end his round and ripped the green jacket from the clutches of seven men who held the lead at some point that Sunday faster than Shooter McGavin did to Happy Gilmore.
Globally, golf is at its strongest point ever. For the first time in the history of the game, since they were defined as such, there is not a single American who holds one of golf’s major titles. Two of the last three major champions have been South Africans, both products of Ernie Els’ elite school which trains potential South African golfers for greatness.
Kids of all walks of life are now taking up the game. It’s more accessible than ever thanks to some programs implemented around the world. But there was one man who was able to take golf and cross-generationally, monumentally, and inspirationally bring it to the masses.
Tiger Woods was right there on Sunday. He was almost back.
Facebook and Twitter were abuzz with updates as he took the lead at 4:00 pm. The last time he co-lead a major, I don’t even think Twitter was popular.
He did almost everything he needed to do to win, including shooting his lowest final round ever at The Masters (67) and pulled a whole group of non-believers back to the edge of their collective couches. He made golf interesting again for even the casual fan for a few glorious hours.
Tiger has never won a major coming from even one stroke behind, let alone seven. But before you know it, he’s shot a front-nine 31 and has fist-pumped and swore his way back into our hearts.
Earlier, I mentioned that golf was at its best, globally. But culturally? We need Tiger back. Out of the past 10 major champions, only one (Phil Mickelson) has gone on to win a tournament again. The past 10 major champions have also all been different.
No dominance.
No streaks.
A lot of question marks.
Take Schwartzel for example. To borrow a line from the legendary Rick Reilly – “[…] Who knows if we’ll ever see HIM again. He seems like a work in progress. Even his first name is unfinished.”
For every Tiger Woods, there is another Louis Oosthuizen. For every Nick Faldo, Tom Watson, and Jack Nicklaus there is a Paul Lawrie, Shaun Micheel, and Michael Campbell.
Look no further than television ratings and now, social media monitors. The world loves to see someone dominate, even if this past week was just a tease.
The days of Arnie’s Army and Jack’s Pack (I just made that one up, but it has a nice ring to it) were the first glory years of golf.
Then we had the first real taste of international success with Seve and José and Sir Nick and Bernhard and Norman and Price.
Then a skinny, half-African-American, half-Asian 21-year-old trumped The Masters field by 12 strokes in 1997.
“Hello, world” indeed.
Give me Tiger Woods beating the field by 15 against a Lucas Glover/Ricky Barnes playoff any day. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks that.
Schwartzel can keep his jacket. But for the rest of us, we’ll keep those Sunday moments where, for just a little while, we could believe in dominance once more.
I’ve always been a sucker for new equipment. With all the brands and variety and technology these days, who wouldn’t be?
So when the Callaway Diablo Octane Tour driver was delivered to my house to test, my Dad commented that my new girlfriend had shown up.
Much to the chagrin of my actual girlfriend, but that’s beside the point.
The Octane Tour is the second generation of the Diablo franchise launched in 2009. The Diablo line of clubs rebranded the ‘Big Bertha’ from the sweet and innocent clubs of yore into a cutting edge, fiery line-up of drivers, fairway woods, and hybrids with the most bad-ass spokesperson Callaway could find:
Rocco Mediate.
Upon first look of the Octane Tour, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Callaway moved away from the previous crown design. Having worked in a golf store at the time of the launch, I heard enough people comment on the odd shape, and the Octane Tour moves back into a more classic pear.
The face and corresponding sweet spot is also larger than the previous generation. Two years ago the face and sweet spot seemed elongated, but this one has larger hitting area and it was evident after hitting just a few balls.
With snow continuing to fall through many parts of the country, I was only able to hit balls at an indoor range to give this a test. I’ll have to see how it performs outside and in course conditions. But even by comparing to the previous week when I was hitting my current driver, my drives were jumping off this face and it had a great feel at impact.
The head is a classic black, and it’s appreciative to see that this club definitely doesn’t need any gimmicks like movable weights or drastic colour contrasts. It doesn’t even have a logo or mark on the top of the crown to allow golfers to line up their ball, an indication of a true ‘tour’ club. It lets its performance and cleanliness do all the talking.
From the lack of markings, to the clean design, to the 450cc clubhead which allows for more workability off the tee, this club lives very much up to it’s ‘tour’ title.
The Octane Tour comes fully-loaded with everything the better player would be looking for in a driver.
A slightly open face angle coupled with the True Temper Project X 7.0 Graphite shaft got me a little nervous at address at first, but after hitting a few balls I felt more comfortable with this than my current driver. I’m used to seeing a stock shaft with a closed head when I look down at the ball, so this was a welcome change.
For low-handicappers who are still fighting a little slice, I’d recommend staying away from this club, but it has a classic look and feel that all better players can appreciate.
The crown is made with a Forged Composite material that Callaway, in partner with their Lamborghini engineers, claim is lighter and stronger than titanium. And the results were evident after just a couple of swings.
Callaway says that, in testing against its predecessor, the aforementioned Diablo Edge, the new Octane Tour hit eight yards further on average, a direct result of superior distribution of clubhead mass. Not only that, it continues to use the Hyperbolic Face Technology which Callaway has been using in each of its drivers since 2008.
I won’t bore you with the technical specs of it, but in the simplest terms: this driver make ball go far.
Look to the Titliest 910 D3 as its closest competitor. With nearly identical face shapes and sizes low-handicappers should have similar expectations if comparing these two clubs. But the tipping point for some may be the price point – the Callaway Diablo Octane Tour retails for less than the 910 D3 but without adjustable face technology.
The biggest problem that this club has is its grip. If it is supposed to be a ‘Tour’ club, which for the most part, it is, it needs to have a full ‘Tour’ package. Do not put the standard Callaway grip on this club.
The brand partnership with Phil Mickelson is huge for Callaway, they should look to leverage that and throw on a black and white New Decade Multicompound or something comparable as stock option.
Golfers at this level would be happy to spend the extra $20 to receive a full package ‘tour’ club, as most would be getting this re-gripped regardless.
For players who are already low-handicappers, or for players looking to move to that level, this club gives them a lightweight head and a very large sweet spot without any gimmicks. A very solid addition with a classic look to the Callaway family.
The state of video games these days can be summed up by the incomparable country twang of Brad Paisley, in his song Welcome to the Future.
A line from the song says – “I’d have given anything/to have my own Pac-Man game at home/I used to have to get a ride down to the arcade/now I’ve got in on my phone.”
I managed to skip the video arcade generation, but one of the first memories I have of playing a video game was on my parent’s old Windows 95-run computer in our basement.
Links LS 98 featuring Arnold Palmer kept me entertained for many an hour taking me away to the famous golf links of Kapalua and Latrobe, long before Tiger Woods paired up with EA Sports.
IGN GameSpy called Links LS 1998 “the sequel to one of the greatest golf titles of 1997 […] Even though the courses are the same, the enhancements make the playing experience new once more. New to Links LS 1998 is what Access calls ‘look ahead rendering,’ which calculates your ball’s final resting position and begins to load the correct scenery into memory as the ball is in flight.”
Ah yes. To borrow another classic music quote, the times they are a-changing.
On March 29, EA Sports will release another version of their wildly successful golf video game franchise: Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters and this time the game will include a feature that no one thought would ever occur.
Players will be able to tee it up on the famous and exclusive links of Augusta National Golf Club, virtually strolling the hallowed grounds down Magnolia Lane, serenaded by the soothing baritone of Jim Nantz.
The game has featured many of the world’s most famous courses before, including St. Andrews, TPC Sawgrass, Pebble Beach, and Bethpage Black, just to name a few.
Other games have tried to top the success of EA Sports but the TW franchise continues to have a stranglehold on the market, even without having Augusta on its famed list of places-to-play.
No longer.
In an announcement made in early January, Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne said that as a result from the partnership with EA Sports, 100 per cent of Augusta National’s proceeds will be contributed to the newly created Masters Tournament Foundation, which is designed to annually invest in development programs for the game of golf worldwide.
It was an attempt to foster an appreciation in the history and traditions of The Masters which led to Augusta’s partnership with EA Sports three years ago. Just as EA approached Tiger to be the face of their franchise beginning in 1999, Augusta has done the same here, in order to capitalize on “one of the popular entertainment choices of kids today.”
With all due respect to Mr. Payne, the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 will not only keep the younger generation entertained, but people of all ages who are finally able to get as close to Augusta National as most ever will in their entire life.
Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, said in a statement that “for more than a decade, the Masters tournament has been the most requested and coveted feature for (the franchise) among our fans.”
Not only do players get the hallmark gameplay of the Tiger Woods franchise, this year’s edition features a collection of Masters-specific challenges including ‘Masters Moments’ (playing through historic moments as players measure up against some of golf’s legends) or ‘Tiger at the Masters’ (reliving each of Tiger’s four wins at the Masters by attempting to equal or beat his scores in each round of the tournament).
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 retails for $59.99 and is available at video game retailers everywhere for the PS3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii beginning March 29.
ADAM STANLEY 