Tiger likely to miss cut at Quail Hollow

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, April 30th, 2010
Categories: PGA TourTiger Woods
Tags:

Tiger Woods sits at +5 on the 13th hole at Quail Hollow.  He’s +3 today and not looking “Tiger like.”  Unless he makes a bunch of birdies, he’ll be heading home tonight and missing the cut, the first in a regular season non-major since 2005.

Stats

Tiger has hit 1/4 of his fairways, 50% of his greens in regulation and had 10 bogeys or worse.  That adds up to a missed cut.


Bettinardi BB32 Putter Review

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Categories: Golf ClubsGolf EquipmentGolf GearReviews
Tags:

This is the final putter review for Putter Week 2010.  Did I save the best for last?

I’ve been drooling over Bettinardi Putters for some time.  Bettinardi Golf has really established a good brand which is associated with very high quality and high performance.  My new BB32 mallet putter carries on that high level of quality and performance and possibly even raises the bar.

Bettinardi BB32 Putter

I knew I found a great putter when I hit the first putt with it.  I was in bare feet, taking photos of a bunch of putters for reviews.  I threw a ball down, tore the wrapper off the head and didn’t even do a practice stroke or line it up.  I knocked in about a 25 footer with about a foot of break.  How good would this thing be if I took the time to aim or tried some practice strokes?!?!

BB32 Design

The BB32 putter is a face balanced mallet.  What is face balanced?  You can tell if a putter is face balanced by balancing the putter via the shaft, on your finger.  When balanced, the face will be pointing up to the sky and be perfectly parallel to the ground.  When mallets are face balanced, at least to me, they feel “right.”  For me to switch from a blade to a mallet could only happen if the mallet was face balanced.

Unlike lower quality putters, the putter head is not cast and then skim milled, where they just mill the outside.  The entire putter head is milled from a single block of material.  Bettinardi uses a local supplier which provides them soft materials for their heads, resulting in softer feel.  Yes I know, “soft metal” doesn’t sound logical, but when you are talking about the precision of putting, it can make a big difference, especially with distance control.

The double bend shaft helps put the center of gravity and balance right where it needs to be in the swing.

The BB32 is available in two weights, 332 grams and 348 grams.  The weight of the putter can be seen milled into the label on the bottom of the head, inside the single honeycomb.  Mine is 348 grams.

Bettinardi BB32 Putter Milled Face

Speaking of honeycombs (not the cereal), the face of the putter has a honeycomb pattern milled into it (pictured above).  This pattern is patented by Bettinardi.  The milling provides even more feel, and with the putter’s three degrees of loft gets the ball rolling quicker and smoother than standard putters.

Bettinardi BB32 PutterBB32 Looks

All you have to do is look at this thing and you almost fall in love.  She is a beauty.  I might buy her a few drinks and try to take advantage of her.

There’s nothing busy or distracting about this putter.  The black nickel finish looks very stunning, clean and classy. The single white aiming line really stands out and impresses itself on the player contrasted against the black nickel finish.

BB32 Feel

Those soft metals I mentioned before, along with the perfect weighting and honeycomb milling in the face, produce an incredible feel.  This putter is buttery smooth and simply loves to travel on the intended target line.  I’ve mentioned many times, that to me it is important for a putter to “want” to travel on line.  This baby does.

Distance control with the BB32 is almost automatic.

Options

The BB32 comes in the two weights I mentioned, 332 and 348 grams.  Available shaft lengths are 35″ and 34″.  And good news for lefties, a left handed model is available.

Conclusion

Bettinardi makes all their putters in Chicago, not China.  That way they can keep a close eye on the manufacturing process and quality.  They don’t crank out thousands of clubs a day.  That isn’t what they are about.  To Bettinardi, quality and craftsmanship are paramount, and it shows in the performance and enjoyment I get out of my BB32.

Links

Bettinardi Photo Gallery.


Golf on TV this week

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
Categories: Champions TourEuropean TourLPGA TourPGA TourTiger WoodsWeb.com Tour

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are in action at this week’s Quail Hollow Championship
PGA TOUR
Thursday 4/29 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET GOLF
Friday 4/30 8:30 PM – 11:30 PM ET GOLF
Saturday 5/1 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET GOLF
Saturday 5/1 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET CBS
Sunday 5/2 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET GOLF
Sunday 5/2 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET CBS

Open de Espana
European Tour
Thursday 4/29 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM ET GOLF
Friday 4/30 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM ET GOLF
Saturday 5/1 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM ET GOLF
Sunday 5/2 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM ET GOLF

Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic
Champions Tour
Friday 4/30 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM ET GOLF
Saturday 5/1 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM ET GOLF
Sunday 5/2 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM ET GOLF

BMW Charity Pro-Am
Nationwide Tour
Thursday 5/13 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM ET GOLF
Friday 5/14 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM ET GOLF
Saturday 5/15 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET GOLF
Sunday 5/16 9:30 PM – 11:30 PM ET GOLF


Bob Burns Roll In Putter

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Categories: Golf ClubsGolf EquipmentGolf GearReviews
Tags:

Golf PutterPutter Week 2010 continues…

I mentioned some crazy putters were coming during this year’s Putter Week.  This crazy putter (pictured right) is the Bob Burns “Roll In” putter.  If you like to experiment with your putting, your equipment, club configurations and have ADD, you’re going to want this putter.

Bob Burns Roll In – Features

The Roll In has a 350 gram aluminum mallet head with SEVEN weight ports.  The putter comes with 12, count ’em, TWELVE weights and a tool to install or remove them.  The weights vary from 2-10 grams.  If you can’t find the perfect head balance and weighting with this putter, you might want to take up bowling or basket weaving.

Behind the milled face is a “T” shaped sight line to help you align your putts.  Speaking of the face, tiny grooves are milled into the face to get the ball rolling correctly.

The shaft, available in lengths from 32-37 inches, is a center mount.

Golf PutterLooks

Traditionalists may not dig the looks of the Roll In.  Behind the face in the mallet section is quite busy.  Personally I don’t get distracted by the weights, ports and the rest.  Heck, if my putter had a monkey on the back banging a pair of cymbals in his hands and kicking a bass drum with his feet I wouldn’t care, as long as I made putts.

Feel

With heavy weights installed and the jumbo grip,  a smooth pendulum motion with the shoulders and arms occurs naturally for me.  It is difficult to break the wrists or do any sudden movements which might take the putter off line.

Grip

My Roll In has a super jumbo grip.  The super jumbo grip is massively bigger than a standard grip and four times the weight.  If you have wrist breaking problems or other jerky issues with your putting stroke, this grip and the extra weight it adds higher up in the shaft will probably help.

Other than the jumbo grip pictured above, there are 16 other grip options for the Roll In.

Conclusion

This $125 putter is fun.  It combines the art of putting with a set of Tinker Toys.  All joking about it aside, it is a surprisingly good feeling putter.  The weighting and balance are very nice and promote a smooth, pendulum like stroke.  The adjustable weights allow for fine tuning by even the most detail oriented players.

Links

Bob Burns web site.

Bob Burns HOG Image Gallery.


The Golf Space celebrates four years of golf social networking!

Written by: Tony Korologos | Sunday, April 25th, 2010
Categories: Golf MediaGolf VideosMiscellaneousSite News
Tags:

THE GOLF SPACE CELEBRATES FOUR YEARS OF GOLF SOCIAL NETWORKING

I officially opened the doors of The Golf Space, golf’s #1 social networking site, during Masters week of 2006.  Since then I’ve had the pleasure of meeting thousands of great new golf friends, reading their golf blogs, watching their golf scores and statistics, seeing their photos and best of all, seeing TGS members network and make golf new golf friends. Calling The Golf Space “Facebook for gofers” doesn’t quite do it justice.  TGS was built by golfers, for golfers.  The features and profile fields are all golf biased.

The goal behind TGS is the same simple one it was four years ago, be the web’s best golf networking site.  Be the best “community” in golf anywhere and provide a free home base for golfers to congregate, talk golf, track their golf handicaps, blog, post photos, videos and make new golf connections both in the personal and business worlds.  Every day I see people meeting, getting together to play, giving each other advice and helping each other out on TGS.  When I see those great things happen I smile like a proud papa.

State of TGS

There are over 5100 Golf Space members and growing daily.  Hits exceed 1,000,000 per month with over 75,000 unique visitors.  Considering there’s no advertising budget, this grass roots growth is great.  I’d love to see more members and growth increase, so tell your friends to join The Golf Space.  It is free so there’s nothing to lose but much to gain in the way of friendships, business connections and perhaps help with your short game.

Future of TGS

I think the future is bright for TGS, especially based on how great the current core members are.  I’d love to hear some suggestions on how to make TGS grow and how to make it better.  Some items on the list for TGS in the future would be to improve the site, the look, add new features, make a mobile version for iPhones or blackberries, have TGS tournaments and get-togethers, beer and bratwursts.  You name it.  I’m always up for suggestions.  Oh and I’d love to give away a bunch more free golf stuff too.  Anyone who wants to sponsor some prizes and has giveaway or contest ideas, let me know.

Thanks to the current TGS members, sponsors and friends

Many thanks to the current TGS members, friends, admins and sponsors.  Without your support and friendship this great resource for golfers would not exist.  When the concept of TGS entered my cranium back in the winter of 2006, I nearly drove my car off the road.  I’ve been passionate about TGS ever since, and I promise I’ll do whatever I can to help TGS continue to grow and improve in the future.

Tony Korologos
Golf Space founder and golf web geek

SIGN THE TGS BIRTHDAY CARD HERE…


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