Golf.com Says Old Course is Too Short for Championship Golf? Maybe They Should Focus on Their T&A Photos.

For the first time in my entire life, I read an Alan Shipnuck article at golf.com. The only content I’ve seen on that website previously featured Rickie Fowler’s girlfriend and Holly Saunders, so I was surprised to see an article about golf.

Alan Shipnuck’s “Heros and Zeros” article about the Open Championship was a zero.

The facts are that golf.com posts more skank T&A click bait than golf. Maybe they should stick with their strengths?

The facts are that golf.com posts more click bait T&A photos than golf articles…

Shipnuck calls the Old Course a zero, right after listing it a hero in the previous paragraph:

“The Old Course. Sad to say, it has gotten much too short to provide a true championship test. The long hitters can reach both par-5s and up to four par-4s, and even medium-length players have flip wedges into half the holes. Speeding up the greens clearly isn’t the answer, as wind delays in the last three Opens have shown. It’s not the course’s fault the R&A has let equipment for the pros get out of control, but the Old Course is the saddest casualty.”

The Old Course is too short to provide championship golf? I disagree. Did it not expose the player who had the best all around game, short, long and with the putter? That player was most definitely Zach Johnson. Look at the leader board. Look at the players who were in the top 5-10. It’s a reflection of the best golfers in the world sans a couple who weren’t there in the final round because of injury (Rory McIlory) or not knowing/liking links golf (Bubba Watson). Many of the world’s top 15-20 players floated to the top of the leader board by the end of the tournament. The drama was high. The finish was very exciting. It was great championship golf on the world’s greatest golf stage.

I listened to the broadcasts and read the whining about how the course is too short and the bombers will eat it up all week, as Dustin Johnson held the lead for the first two rounds. Where did Dustin finish? Oh, tied for 49th. Where did Bubba Watson finish? Missed cut. How about Gary Woodland? Tied for 58th. The one bomber who was in the hunt was Jason Day, who also happens to have a great iron and short game and a knack for finishing in 2nd in majors.

If anything the stats show that the Old Course defends long driving well, and rewards accurate shotmaking and course management. Winner Zach Johnson hit 94% of his fairways.

Think about some of the shots the players were hitting. I remember playing the par-3 8th and hitting 8-iron and 9-iron. Some players were hitting 6-iron because of the conditions. One hole a player might hit a 330 yard drive but on the next hit a 150 yard 6-iron. The course required the players to think, manage, execute, avoid hazards, and putt well. The player who did all those things the best won.

What IS Championship Golf?

Maybe Shipnuck’s criteria for “championship golf” is the scores must be at or near even-par like a U.S. Open? Phooey. The Open winner finished at -15. If you recall, Jordan Spieth was at -19 in this year’s Masters Tournament with one hole left to play. With a large lead of five strokes, he safely won the tournament with an easy bogey on the 72nd hole to finish at -18. -18 eh? Does that mean Augusta National Golf Club isn’t a championship course either?

Conclusion

Golf.com should stick with its strengths, posting T&A photos of the “most beautiful women in golf.”

First Look – Tour Edge Exotics CB Pro U Hybrid Limited Edition

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, July 24th, 2015
Categories: Golf • Golf Clubs • Golf Equipment • Golf For Women • Golf Gear
Tags: hybrid • Tour Edge

In for review is the new Tour Edge Exotics CB Pro U Hybrid Limited Edition. How in the world am I supposed to take this club out of the box and hit it? I’m half tempted to leave it as-is and put it on the wall as a showpiece.

Tour Edge Exotics CB Pro U Hybrid Limited Edition – click for more photos

Maybe I can cover the whole head with swing tape?

Tour Edge CB Pro U Hybrid Limited Edition – click for more photos

Stay tuned for the full golf club review of the CB Pro U Hybrid. If it comes close to my Tour Edge Exotics XCG7 3-wood, last year’s HOG Product of the Year, I’ll be thrilled.

First Look – Golf Buddy LR5 Laser Rangefinder

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, July 24th, 2015
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf For Women • Golf Gear
Tags: Golf Buddy • Golf Laser Range Finder • GolfBuddy

I’ve started testing the new Golf Buddy LR5 laser rangefinder. My first round with the unit was a couple of days ago. Here’s a photo of the unit below.

Golf Buddy LR5 Laser Rangefinder

One round is not enough for me to write a review, but first impressions are that it is accurate and I love the small size. It fits in the palm of my hand.

Stay tuned for my full Golf Buddy LR5 Laser Rangefinder review soon.

HOG Talking Golf on Iowa’s 1700 The Champ Sports Talk Radio

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, July 21st, 2015
Categories: (British) Open Championship • Golf • Golf For Women • Golf Media • Interviews • Jordan Spieth • Miscellaneous • Pro Golf • Rory McIlory • Site News • Tiger Woods
Tags: (British) Open Championship • 1700 The Champ • Iowa

This morning I had fun doing an appearance on CBS Sports Talk Radio 1700 The Champ on the Jimmy B & TC Show. 1700 The Champ is based in Des Moines, Iowa. Our subject of discussion was the Open Championship and the win by Iowa native Zach Johnson. Obviously they’re super stoked about that. It was fun to talk golf over my morning coffee with Jimmy B and TC (Jim Brinson and Trent Condon). When the podcast of today’s show becomes available I’ll post a link to it.

This was the second appearance I made on the show. Last week we did an Open Championship preview which went quite well. Tooting my own horn (beep beep), I have to mention that in the preview for the Open I expressed my doubt that Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson would make the cut in the Open. They did not. A broken clock is right twice a day, assuming it isn’t a military clock. Here’s a link to the podcast of the Open preview show.

Thanks to my new pals Jimmy B and TC for the opportunity. We will be doing the same gig before and after the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

2015 Open Championship Final Comments

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, July 20th, 2015
Categories: (British) Open Championship • Jordan Spieth • Pro Golf • Rory McIlory • Tiger Woods
Tags: Zach Johnson

Zach Johnson with the Claret Jug

I was watching the (British) Open Championship and a Masters Tournament broke out! A crowd of 47 billion players was in the hunt, with somewhere around nine players holding or sharing the lead during the final round today, Monday.

History Almost Made

The storyline possibilities coming into the final round were all-world. The hype coming into the event of course was the possibility that Jordan Spieth could capture the 3rd leg of golf’s “grand slam,” winning all four major championships in one season. Spieth was close all day and an unlikely 50 foot birdie putt on the 16th made it seem as if his fate was to win. At that point he was tied for the lead. Unfortunately Spieth is better from over 20 feet than he is from eight feet. He missed an eight footer for par on the 17th Road Hole to drop back to one shot behind the lead. Fortunately he had the super-easy 18th hole, a driveable par-4. Left with an awkward shot which was between clubs, Spieth’s 2nd shot found the “Valley of Sin,” a depression short of the green. The birdie putt to join a playoff was off-left. Grand slam dream over.

An even more unlikely and probably more historic dream was the possibility that an amateur could win the Open. 22-year-old Paul Dunne incredibly had brought himself to a tie for the lead after three rounds and was in the final group. The last time an amateur was in the final group in the Open was Bobby Jones in 1927. Nerves were too much for Dunne, who finished with a 78, taking him out of low amateur honors. Still, he impressed the golfing world. We’ll see him again.

Near Misses

Jason Day was one shot off of entering the playoff, along with Spieth. At 25 I wonder if anyone has come so close in majors, so many times by this age. Heartbreak hotel. I really like Day and hope his time will come.

Adam Scott was in the mix. He completely melted on the final nine with a 40 which included missing a putt which looked to be no more than 12-18 inches. That’s why he has the anchored putter I suppose. Despite his 40, he still shot 71. Wow.

Marc Leishman was one of three players to enter the 4-hole aggregate playoff, the other being Zach Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen. Leishman’s story is one of inspiration, having nearly lost his wife to sickness. In the playoff he could only manage +2.

Louis Oosthuizen made birdie on the 18th to join the playoff. He struck the ball fairly poorly in the final round but managed his way well enough to tie for the lead at the end. Even par for the four playoff holes (1, 2, 17, 18) was one stroke shy.

Zach Johnson

Hats off to Zach Johnson. He managed his game around the Old Course, which was being eaten alive by long hitters for the first couple of days. Johnson’s win is mostly attributable to his short game. Hitting 94% of his fairways didn’t hurt, however. Johnson birdied the first two playoff holes to open up a lead and never gave the lead up. Surprisingly and quietly, Johnson stuck around and produced winning shots at the perfect time to become the champion golfer of the year.

Missed the Cut

Tiger Woods… what can be said about Woods? He shot his worst round ever at the Old Course (76) in the first round and couldn’t get it together. Woods’s fall from the top is perhaps the biggest, fastest, most dramatic fall from the pinnacle the sporting world has seen. Woods said he needed to check his spin rates to see what the problem was.

Yeah, go do that.

Bubba Watson has the length to eat up the Old Course, but links golf is a bit of a mystery to him. When he figures it out he could win an Open, but as long as it frustrates him he will not be a factor.

Tom Watson’s history in the Open Championship is nearly without comparison, unless you go back to the 1800’s when Old Tom Morris was winning the even almost yearly. Five times Watson has hoisted the Claret Jug. Watson said goodbye to major championship golf on the Swilken Bridge, just like Jack Nicklaus did 10 years ago in 2005.

Thanks for the memories Tom. Well played.

The Old Course

The Old Course played a little too easy for my taste this time around. Players were taking divots and spinning balls back on some of the greens. The ground has been so hard every time I’ve played there that I never saw a single divot. In fact, getting a tee in the ground was a chore. I would have liked to see the Old Lady show her teeth a little more with harder surfaces and more wind.

Conclusion

2015 was a fantastic open. So many great stories, some which I covered. The Open Championship is always special at the Old Course in St Andrews.

On a course where many complained the big hitters had an unfair advantage, the player with the best short game won.

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