PGA TOUR
CIMB Classic
Dates: Oct. 29-Nov. 1
Venue: Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (West Course), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday 10:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (Live) / 2-6 p.m. (Thursday replay)
Thursday 10:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (Live) / 1-5 p.m. (Friday replay)
Friday 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Live) / 1-5 p.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Live) / Noon-4 p.m. (Sunday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Tournament format: The field consists of 78 players including 60 players from the 2014-15 FedExCup standings, 10 from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and eight sponsor’s exemptions, competing in a 72-hole no-cut format.
Moore defends: Ryan Moore won by three strokes over Gary Woodland, Kevin Na and Sergio Garcia to successfully defend his 2013 title.
Headlining the field: Henrik Stenson, Hideki Matsuyama, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Patrick Reed, Anirban Lahiri, Daniel Berger, Justin Thomas, Branden Grace and Kevin Na.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Turkish Airlines Open
Dates: Oct. 29-Nov. 1
Venue: The Montgomerie Maxx Royal, Antalya, Turkey
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 5-10 a.m. (Live)
Friday 5-10 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 5-10 a.m. (Live)
Sunday 3:30-8:30 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Final Series begins as McIlroy looks to maintain Race to Dubai lead: Rory McIlroy headlines the field as the Race to Dubai leader in the first of four events a part of the European Tour’s Final Series. Each of the four events features a field of 60-78 players with no cut, totaling a combined purse of $30.5 million.
Headlining the field: Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Charl Schwartzel, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Shane Lowry, Victor Dubuisson and Matthew Fitzpatrick.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Toshiba Classic
Dates: Oct. 30-Nov. 1
Venue: Newport Beach Country Club, Newport Beach, Calif.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Friday 5-8 p.m. (Live) / 3-5 a.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 5-8 p.m. (Live) / 2-3:30 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday 4:30-7 p.m. (Live) / Midnight-2 a.m. (Monday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Three continue to battle for Charles Schwab Cup title: This is the final event prior to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, with Colin Montgomerie, Jeff Maggert and Bernhard Langer still in the race to win the Charles Schwab Cup, with only 66 points separating Montgomerie (first place) from Langer (third place). At week’s end, the top-30 in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race will advance to next week’s season-culminating Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Arizona. Players on the bubble hoping to advance to compete in next week’s field include: Fred Couples (No. 28); Miguel Angel Jimenez (No. 29); Duffy Waldorf (No. 30); Stephen Ames (No. 31); Rod Spittle (No. 32); Rocco Mediate (No. 33); and Fred Funk (No. 34).
Couples defends: Fred Couples defeated Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer and Steve Pate by one stroke for his 10th career Champions Tour victory.
Headlining the field: Colin Montgomerie, Jeff Maggert, Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Jay Haas, Vijay Singh, Mark O’Meara, Rocco Mediate, Marco Dawson and Tom Lehman.
LPGA TOUR
Blue Bay LPGA
Dates: Oct. 29-Nov. 1
Venue: Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, Hainan Island, China
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 2:30-5 a.m. (Tape delay) / Midnight-4 a.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Friday 2:30-5 a.m. (Tape delay) / Midnight-4 a.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Saturday 8-10:30 p.m. (Tape delay) / Midnight-4 a.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Sunday 8 p.m.-Midnight (Tape delay) / Midnight-3 a.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Broadcast Notes:
Pace defends: Lee-Anne Pace defeated Caroline Masson by three strokes for his first LPGA Tour win in a 54-hole shortened event due to heavy rains.
Headlining the field: Lydia Ko, Inbee Park, Stacy Lewis, Shanshan Feng, Hyo Joo Kim, Amy Yang, Suzann Pettersen, Sei Young Kim, Anna Nordqvist and Brittany Lincicome.
Coming Up…
East Lake Cup
Dates: Nov. 2-3
Venue: East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga.
Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Monday, Nov. 2 Semifinals, Match Play 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 7-10 p.m. (Replay)
Tuesday, Nov. 3 Finals, Match Play 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 6-10 p.m. (Replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Format: The four NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships semifinalist teams will reconvene to compete in the inaugural East Lake Cup collegiate match play championship from East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., home of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. The event will benefit the East Lake Foundation. In addition to live tournament coverage on Golf Channel, the network will provide pre-and-post event news coverage on Golf Central, with live reports and interviews from on-site at Eat Lake.
Participating Universities: The four participating men’s teams include: reigning National Champions Louisiana State University (LSU), the University of Southern California (USC), who lost to LSU in the championship match; the University of Illinois, who has won three of their last four fall collegiate events and is currently the top-ranked team in the country according to the GCAA Coaches Rankings, and the University of Georgia (UGA), two-time national champions (1999 and 2005). The women’s division features three of the top-four ranked teams in the current Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings including 2015 NCAA Women’s National Champion Stanford University. The remaining field includes Championship runner-up Baylor University; the University of Southern California (USC), currently the top-ranked team in the country in both the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings and Golfstat Relative Ranking; and six-time national champions Duke University.
This product review of the Bridgestone Golf J15 Driving Forged Irons came at a critical time in my golf game and my attitude. Anyone who follows this blog and/or my social networks knows of the frustrations I’ve had of late with this beautifully infuriating game of golf. More on the timing and attitude later. First let’s take a look at the J15 Driving Forged Irons.
Bridgestone Golf J15DF Irons – click to see more
Construction
The J15 Driving Forged Irons are designed for golfers from the professional level to mid-handicap players. I fall somewhere in that range as a player who varies from a 1-4 handicap, depending on the time of year. So they should be a good fit.
The J15DF features a two-piece premium forged carbon steel design. For those of you readers who don’t know what “forged” really means, it’s one of two primary manufacturing processes irons are typically made from. The other process is called casting, producing “cast” clubs. In my opinion forged clubs tend to have a softer feel and provide more “feedback” to the player than cast. Feedback would be the feel and sound translated to the player from the club. Feedback gives the player great information with regards to the quality of contact and where it occurs on the club face. Better players can translate this feedback into how they need to adjust for better contact. Cast irons on the other hand, don’t often produce this feel. Most shots, regardless of where they happen on the club face, feel about the same.
These irons feature a “hidden” cavity between the front and the rear of the club head. This design employs “FAST” technology, or Flex Action Speed Technology. The cavity and design allows the club’s weight to be moved out toward the perimeter. Perimeter weighting (another buzz term in the golf industry) provides more forgiveness.
The sole of the club is a little narrower than game improvement clubs (clubs which are meant for higher handicap players). “Mid Sure Contact Sole” design allows the club to be consistent in the way it interacts and bounces off of the ground.
Bridgestone Golf J15DF Irons
Specs
| Iron |
Loft |
Lie
Angle |
Length |
S/W |
Offset |
Bounce |
| 3 |
20° |
60.5° |
39″ |
D3 |
3.5 mm |
2.0° |
| 4 |
22.5° |
61.0° |
38.5″ |
D3 |
3.5 mm |
2.0° |
| 5 |
25° |
61.5° |
38″ |
D3 |
3.0 mm |
2.0° |
| 6 |
28° |
62.0° |
37.5″ |
D3 |
3.0 mm |
3.0° |
| 7 |
32° |
62.5° |
37″ |
D3 |
3.0 mm |
3.0° |
| 8 |
36° |
63.0° |
36.5″ |
D3 |
2.5 mm |
4.0° |
| 9 |
41° |
63.5° |
36″ |
D3 |
2.5 mm |
5.0° |
| PW |
46° |
64.0° |
35.75″ |
D4 |
2.5 mm |
6.0° |
This club is available in right-hand only. Sorry lefties. You’re missing out. While the specs above show a 3-iron, the set I tested is a 4-PW.
Options
A club fitting would help in the setup decision making process without a doubt. I recommend making sure your shafts, lofts, lengths, and lies are all set for your swing. If you already know your specs, you can actually order your exact setup online at the Bridgestone Golf J15 page.
There are well over 20 shaft options available. I ended up with the True Temper Dynamic Gold Pro S300, the stock shafts. They’re fantastic.
The J15DF online configurator offers a choice of 14 grips. The model I’m gaming is the Golf Pride Tour Velvet. While they seemed a bit hard at first, I’ve grown to really like them. I’ll be reviewing the grips in a separate article later.
On The Course
From the first club I hit on the range (still remember it was a 7-iron), to the last one I hit yesterday, I’ve been thrilled with these irons. I have the opportunity to play many of the world’s best irons from most of the major brands, many custom made. None of those other irons but the J15DF’s have come close to the feel and control I grew accustomed to with my hand forged set of Hogan irons from nearly 15 years ago. The feel is butter.
Unlike the old school irons though, these are easier to hit and much longer. I’ve enjoyed very solid iron length and accuracy since putting the J15DF in the bag. The control these irons offer is tremendous. Whether I want to hit a low driving punch 5-iron like I did a few days ago on the par-3 11th to eight feet, or hit a high fade with a 7-iron, these clubs respond.
That high fade with a 7-iron came yesterday, probably my shot of the month. It was my 2nd shot on the 510 yard par-5 7th. I was 184 out and needed to carry the shot over some front bunkers and have it release to a back-right pin. The shot was one of the most pure shots I’ve ever hit and the ball landed within inches of my intended landing spot over one of the bunkers. It released up a slope in the green and finished at 12 inches from the hole for a tap-in eagle. That came at a time when my partner and I had just been pressed on the front nine. #winner
There are many stories I could tell like the 7-iron above, and with the J15DF’s in the bag there will surely be many more.
Critical Timing
I mentioned the critical timing in my opener. You see, I’ve been struggling so much with my game I was close to quitting. Not just for a week or two, or for the winter, but forever. I’d had it. Then the J15DF’s came in for review. I was very close to declining the review and quitting. Out of respect for Bridgestone and how great they’ve been to HOG over the years I decided to do the review. The J15DF irons gave my game a badly needed spark. They talked me off the proverbial golf cliff.
Now that I’ve become excited about hitting quality iron shots again, winter looms unfortunately. I’ll be trying to get in as many rounds with these irons as I can until the snow flies.
Conclusion
Bridgestone may be better known for their golf ball products, but you’d be making a mistake if you didn’t check them out before making an iron buying decision. The Bridgestone Golf J15DF irons provide ultimate distance, control, and feel for golfers of mid-level handicaps and better. I know exactly where I’m hitting it on the club face because of their fantastic feel and feedback. I know if I execute shots well with these clubs, the results will be tremendous.
One of the cool things about being one of the world’s leading golf bloggers, probably even one of the leading golf bloggers in the universe, is checking out newest of the new golf equipment, golf apparel, and accessories. That brings us into today’s Sunday golf apparel script which features a new polo from Carnoustie Performance. This is part of the 2016 Carnousite Performance polo line. I’m hoping the polo below will help my short game, and help me make a few birdies in my weekly money game.
Don’t let the name scare you. Yes, Carnoustie is the name of one of the world’s most difficult golf courses. But this polo is not difficult to put on or to wear.
Due to a horrible email mix-up I’m not on a plane to the Bahamas right now. Believe me, this is not the news I was looking for. So I’m home for the next four days when I thought I’d be soaking up the beach and some resort golf. Boo. I’ll make the best of it though, and play golf a couple of times here and take a small road trip with the wife and my little boy.
Today I’m going to sneak out and catch a round at Wingpointe, a course I thought I’d played for the last time a week ago. It’s closing in a few weeks. I also anticipate playing Sunday. After that it’s Tuesday the 27th for the annual Hell Night tournament at my club.
14th Hole – Wingpointe Golf Course
That’s probably it for the season. The weather may be okay for playing, but I’ve been struggling this year with my game and think I really need a mental break from it. For the first time in my golfing life, I’m looking forward to winter.
The latest belt script I’ve been proudly featuring is a very cool and unique custom milled Hooked on Golf Blog belt from NXT18 Golf Belts. Let’s take a look.
Custom Milled HOG NXT18GOlf Belt – A Work of Art
Custom Milling
NXT18 Golf custom mills the buckles out of a block of 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum. And we are not talking about milling in China either. These are done in Massachusetts.
While one could simply purchase the original artwork of the NXT18 belts, custom artwork is where it is at. Just look at the beauty of the HOG logo and you’ll see what I mean.
Hand Painting
The milling effect alone makes most artwork look very cool. Add that to the different color/paint possibilities and the buckles look out of this world awesome. The buckles are hand painted, adding to the fine attention to detail and quality of the product.
Tension Lock
The belt tightens through a tension lock system. In the HOG photo above you can see left of the H a loop in the belt which is where it is tightened. This is cool because the tightness of the belt can be perfectly set to the wearer’s preference and comfort level. Belts which have holes and pins to lock them seem to never have the right setting for me, they’re either too tight or too loose. With the tension lock system one can loosen the belt up a little for comfort while sitting in the office after a large lunch which includes an Italian Stromboli. Trust me on that one.
Webbing Belt
The belts themselves are a nylon webbing material which is very strong and light. These belts come in about 13 colors/designs. I chose black, being a former rock & roll musician. If they had skulls, I’d be all over it like John Daly over a cigarette.
Colors/Sizes
There are a large number of colors available for the bucles, somewhere around 10-15 is my guess.
Since the belt is a tension system, sizing is easy. You just let them know your waist size and they’ll hook you up with the proper length, which is once again, completely adjustable.
Critiques
My only critique and suggestion for this belt is for NXT18 to consider a different system than the Tension Lock. While it is cool, the system results in the buckle not sitting on the wearer’s body very flat. The tightening side sticks out farther than the other side (photo below).
A different system with the lock on the back of the buckle would solve that issue, and also free up about another inch of space for artwork/milling.
Conclusion
Love my custom milled aluminum HOG belt. I wear it proudly and love the quality and uniqueness it showcases, thanks to NXT18 Golf Belts!
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