2013 Golf Season Thread

[texasdave]

1st round of Match Play:

Tiger - see ya!
Rory - see ya!

[BuckeyeRed27]

Originally Posted by texasdave

1st round of Match Play:

Tiger - see ya!
Rory - see ya!

Weekend ratings - see ya!

Tiger actually played really well and probably would have beat anyone else, Howell just had a nice round. Rory looked a bit rusty at times.

[Hoosier Red]

Rory's been a lot rusty all season. As Jason Sobel tweeted yesterday,

Jason Sobel ‏@JasonSobelGC
Congratulations to No. 1-ranked Rory McIlroy on making his first cut of the 2013 season.

[texasdave]

I wonder if those new clubs are causing Rory more trouble than one might think? I see the PGA is sticking up for the belly putter. I have no idea why it was banned after being used for so many years.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by texasdave

I wonder if those new clubs are causing Rory more trouble than one might think? I see the PGA is sticking up for the belly putter. I have no idea why it was banned after being used for so many years.

Rory will be just fine, but changing equipment is a big deal. The driver and the putter are the two most important, obviously. The driver should be a pretty easy switch, but the putter could really hold him back. Tiger is still searching for that perfect putter after putting with the Cameron for so long.

I've gone back and forth on this anchor ban. At heart, you shouldn't be able to anchor a club. But, it's been around for so long and the best putters don't use them. Also, as a PGA Pro, making the game easier for golfers is a good thing. The game is way too difficult for so many.

The Match Play tournament stinks. Watching the first two rounds is really exciting, but the last few rounds are so boring. I'm really not sure how it's fixed, but the drama is gone come Sunday. Playing in match play tournaments is a lot fun, and it's cool that the Tour has an event like this, but watching it is a whole different story. I didn't even watch the final match yesterday.

[texasdave]

Read more: http://www.golf.com/ap-news/mcilroy-...#ixzz2MJ5nei9n

McIlroy quits in the middle of a round. How often does that happen? Aside from John Daly, of course.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by texasdave

Read more: http://www.golf.com/ap-news/mcilroy-...#ixzz2MJ5nei9n

McIlroy quits in the middle of a round. How often does that happen? Aside from John Daly, of course.

I was shocked to see that. Some painful tooth! Would he have wd'd if he was in the Top 10? No way.

I'm not concerned with Rory and I believe he'll play well in the near future, but I am a little surprised how rough it's been for him to start the year. Changing equipment is a big deal, but with all the technology today I didn't think it'd be too difficult for him.

Here's my take on switching clubs. Last year, I switched from Cleveland to Titleist. Switching irons is pretty seemless. The wedges were a big concern, but that quickly evaporated after trying the new ones. In fact, I strongly believe Vokey makes the best wedges. They're awesome.

Now, onto the driver, 3W, and putter. Switching drivers nowadays isn't that difficult. Trackman displays all the important stats and it's not that difficult to get the right loft, shaft, etc., especially when you're the #1 player in the world. The 3W is a bit different though. 3 woods are, in many professionals opinion, the toughest club to find. It's hard to find one that you like off the tee and the ground. And in Rory's case, he had a Titleist 3W that he hit about 290 in the fairway most of the time. A great go-to club!

Now the putter. I've been using the same putter for 20 years, a Wilson 8802. I personally didn't consider switching putters. And Rory shouldn't have either. Too many switches at once can cause some doubt. The putter, obviously, is a sensitive subject for golfers. Rory should use what's comfortable and gradually switch to a Nike putter when he's ready, similar to what Tiger has done. In fact, it took Tiger quite a few years before he made the switch.

Balls. I played Titleist forever, then switched to Srixon, then back to Titleist. Surprisingly, I didn't have any issues. Both make great golf balls. The balls are so good nowadays. I will say I'm not a huge fan of Callaway balls. They feel hard around the greens. I haven't tried the Nike ball that Rory and Tiger are playing.

If I was Rory, I would've said I'll play the driver, irons, and wedges. And I'll use the ball. But, I won't switch to the 3W and putter until I'm ready. Obviously, lots of $$$ had something to do with his options.

Can't wait to see the drama unfold at this year's Masters..........

[MWM]

That's a really interesting take, Redhook. I'm a long ways from a pro, but my experience has been similar. I've been able to go between irons without too much adjustment. If I keep the shafts the same profile, I'm usually good to go.

It's taken a little more adjustment with the driver, but very little. Again, I will keep my shafts the same so that makes it much easier.

But 3 wood is the one I find myself going back to the one I know I can hit. I've always been a solid fairway wood player, but that's the one I struggle with the most when I've attempted to switch.

I've also recently gone back to my old reliable putter. It's old and beat up, but I finally thought I'd give it a try after I could never seem to line the ball up well with my new putter that felt so great all those times I demo'ed it. Never worked on the course. I went back to my old one and I was instantaneously putting as well as I ever had. So I have an older fairway wood and putter in my bag. The rest is pretty new.

[Caveat Emperor]

I've never found a 3-wood that I like. I've got a Callaway X-series that I keep in the bag, but I never find myself wanting to hit it.

But, that's about par for the course for me -- my iron set is one of those Adams Idea (half graphite hybrid, half steel regular) jobs that I've had for 6 years, and it's gotten to the point where I can't stand swinging anything under the 7 iron.

[bucksfan2]

@Redhook.

In regards to clubs I do agree with you that a 3 wood is one of the most important clubs in your bag. When you find a good one you often stick with it for quite a while. Its a club that enables you to still get distance but is also a more comfortable one to hit. If your not hitting your driver well you can sacrifice a 20 or so yards and hit a more reliable club. Its not often that you hear "I hate my 3 wood" from any golfer.

As for irons wedges are something that takes some getting used to. Most PW's come with a set and you either like one or don't like it. Gap, Sand, and Lob take some getting used to and I agree with you that Volkey are the best in the business. Granted I am not Rory and don't hit near as many balls as he does, it takes a while to get the spin right. The first number of shots you hit with a Volkey spin milled wedge is going to seriously back the ball up. But after a while the ball doesn't back up as much.

One thing I think your missing in regards to a set of irons is the love/hate you may have for a particular iron. In a given set you may hate your 4 iron and love your 8 iron. You have a great deal of confidence with one club but with another your lost. When your struggling it always seems like the distance that keeps coming up is the one with the club you hate.

Normally during a golf season I will go through 2-3 putters. Whenever I go through a period where I am not seeing the putt I tend to switch. Sometimes I want a different look. Sometimes I want a putter that works a little better with a forward press. Other times I want a putter that looks good if I open my stance up a little bit. Granted most of the puts I am trying to sink amount to a beer or a couple of bucks.

[SunDeck]

I don't know a lot of guys who hit three woods off the fairway. More like five woods and hybrids. From the tee box, my own highly unscientific observation is that most golfers use their drivers too much and should probably be using a three wood instead, and by "most golfers", I'm talking about the folks who are not playing from the tips (or shouldn't be).

The only club in my bag I will never leave is the putter, but I've played rounds with other people's irons and usually after about nine holes, I have a pretty good sense of what they do for me or against me. It seems odd to me that an elite player would struggle so much with a club change. A pro is so much more capable of replicating the arc of the golf swing every time that it seems they should get a sense very quickly for how a club changes the nature of their ball flight.

It's nice to know they are human.

[MWM]

Rory +3 through 13 so far today, so not looking like it's much better.

[texasdave]

Rory birdied his 16 and 17 to get it to +1. Tiger in a five-way (onions and kidney beans) tie for the lead at 6-under. Tiger had nine birdies and three bogies. He is tied with Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson among others. Phil had a bogey-free round and is one shot back.

[texasdave]

Tiger cards a 4-under on the front nine and is in the lead at -10. Phil started slowly on the back nine - 1-over through four holes - but has since birdied 6 of the next 10 holes to join him atop the leaderboard. Rory? I doubt he can see the leaders from where he is sitting.

[MWM]

This is shaping up to be a pretty amazing leaderboard. I hope Tiger doesn't run away with like he did at Torrey Pines.

Nice to see Stricker in contention. Too bad he's only playing about 12 events this year.