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The word on the street is that this year's US Open at the South Course at Torrey Pines won't be the ball-breaker that Oakmont was last year.  Oakmont's layout is notoriously difficult as it is, so when you add graduated rough and lightning-fast greens on surfaces that resemble tilted panes of glass, players feel as if they've gone 12 rounds with *insert your favorite boxer here*.

Sources tell me that this year's US Open will be different.  "OMG how can it possibly be different," you say?  Simple.  First, the fairways will be essentially the same width as they were set for the Buick Invitational.  The rough isn't going to be that much deeper than for the Buick Invitational as well.  Finally, the tees will be pushed back, but not as far back as humanly possible...because if they were, they course could be stretched back to over 7,600 yards, which is totally insane.  It will still be the longest US Open course by more than 300 yards.  Ouch.

But that doesn't mean that Torrey Pines will be a walk in the park.  The setup of Torrey Pines has been very, very carefully considered and scrutinized.  Surprisingly, Torrey Pines isn't on Golf Digest's Top 100 Greatest Golf Courses.  Crazy, right?  It's the first time that an Open course hasn't been in the Top 100 since 1976 (that distinction would belong to Atlanta Athletic Club).  Torrey Pines does belong to the Top 100 Public Golf Courses list, but even then it's ranked at a high 90th position by that golf publication.  Instead of pencil-wide fairways and 7-inch uniform rough, Torrey Pines will feature other characteristics that will make it plenty challenging.  

Mike Davis, the senior director of Rules and Competition for the USGA, can be credited with introducing the graduated rough that was mentioned above; that is, rough that becomes progressively deeper the further you hit into it.  Similarly, the rough around the greens will also be mowed in concentric steps.  The approach areas in front of the greens, which will consist of Bermuda grass instead of the Kikuyu that can be found in the fairways, have been aerified and top-dressed as if they were greens.  Top-dressing is the process of adding a fine layer of soil to the surface, a process which is done to greens to make them as firm as possible.  Why do this?  According to Davis, it's so that players can bounce shots into the green instead of flying them onto it, if they choose...and unlike Donald Ross's dome-shaped greens at Pinehurst or the steep sloping greens of A.W. Tillinghast's Winged Foot, Torrey Pines' perfect Poa greens were designed to hold long iron shots.  And here is where the brilliance of Davis' Open strategy shines - making all type of shots possible for all types of players while being as challenging, and fair, as possible.  Going back to the idea of graduated rough, Davis wants players who can bomb the ball to have that advantage of distance.  However, if you wander too far off the beaten path, long hitters will find themselves closer to the hole but in deeper rough that is a mix of gnarly Kikuyu and ryegrass.  If you're wondering what the hell Kikuyu is, Kikuyu is a coarse-textured light green grass that is actually considered a weed in coastal California.

Did I forget to mention that the fairways and greens on the coastal side of the course have been relocated closer to the ocean, bringing the cliffs into play?  Hope you don't start snap hooking into the Pacific!  Many areas around hazards, such as the small pond in front of the Par-5 18th, will be shaved so that anything landing near it will funnel into the water.  Torrey Pines' greens won't be running close to 15 on the Stimpmeter like they did early in the week at Oakmontl ast year, but should hover around no more than 13.  That's still fast as hell, as fast as either you or I have ever experienced.  But here's the real kicker, to show you how freaky Davis and his crew are:  he has kept bleachers and TV towers positioned off to the side of the greens at the 3rd, 4th, 7th, 11th, 12th, 14th and 16th holes to keep the targets fully exposed to the coastal winds.

In a way, it's totally sadistic.  It's undenialbly ingenious.  It's the US Open in all it's glory.  And if this strategy proves to be successful, I think you can count on seeing Torrey Pines a little more regularly in US Opens or PGA Championships.

Posted by vaca22 at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Got an email the other day about the opening of Vokey.com, a sub-site of Titleist selling the Brian Vokey-designed wedges.  As you may or may not know, Titleist also has a separate site for their Scotty Cameron line of putters.  This is pretty cool because any time you have a separate website for your putters (or whatever other equipment that is being offered) you know that it's there for a good reason, and that is to highlight the importance or exclusivity of said equipment.
The Vokey.com website tries to do what the Scotty Cameron website does, which is to highlight their products and explain why they are great, giving a little bit of history or design explanation from the creator(s) and some player testimonies...just not in as much detail.  As I was browsing the site I noticed a new wedge included in the Vokey lineup - the Vokey TVD 60.   

The TVD 60 will be released in a limited-edition batch of 600.  Limited-release stuff is gobbled up by club junkies and if the response to the limited release is anything as good as Cameron's limited release stuff, 600 wedges will end up selling in no time flat.  But somehow I don't think that Titleist is concerned as to whether or not they can move those 600 wedges...I know they can. 

The TVD 60 has, according to the site, a high-performance sole and sole relief.  The bounce surface (which is "crescent-shaped") is cambered to keep the club from bouncing but also has enough sole width and bounce angle to prevent digging.  There is heel, toe and trailing edge relief that is designed to keep the club's leading edge close to the ground from a variety of playing positions.  The wedges also inherit the machined grooves and face of the Spin Milled models. 

The price?  $250 according to the website.  But that price also includes some personalized stamping that you can have added such as a set of initials, your choice of shaft and grip.  But why pay $250 for a "custom" wedge that is actually stock, and differs only slightly from the Spin Milled version which is over $120 cheaper?  The only real difference I see is that the TVD has a sole grind (the other Vokeys do not) and more relief.  

I guess I'm just disappointed that the website didn't really have the content I was expecting.  The Vokey.com site was lauched primarily to highlight the TVD wedge but the site didn't go into explaining the wedge as well as I had hoped.  I know that this site is a work in progress; the Cameron website started that way and has grown into its own subculture, it seems.  I hope that more loft and bounce options will be available in the future.  Perhaps the creation of the site was meant to be a way to guage the amount of interest generated by the TVD?

I'm sure the TVD is a terrific piece of equipment but $250 seems a bit steep for a wedge, a tool that is actually disposable, at least in my opinion.  If you play many rounds and hit a lot of balls your wedges will eventually lose their bite - take a brand-new wedge out to a practice bunker and hit some balls and you'll realize that you're slowly wearing down the face of the club.  Maybe it's the exclusivity of the club that will attract people, but if you're looking versatile wedges with multiple loft and bounce options, companies Cleveland and Callaway will have your head spinning with a dizzying amount of choices.  With the addition of wedge master Roger Cleveland to the company lineup, Callaway now has 2 different grinds available (PM and C-Grind) in addition to their regular sole for the same price as any other wedge, and if true customization is the name of your game then you can have a Scratch or Chikara wedge completely tailored to your preference and swing style instead of an off-the-rack single-option Vokey TVD for the same price.

Or you can take a $120 Spin Milled to your nearest bench grinder and create your own. 

Posted by vaca22 at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There's one tournament you want to win (aside from any major) in your career, and that's The Players Championship.  This week, Sergio Garcia showed us why he is easily one of the top players in the world despite his #18 (as of 5/11/08) world golf ranking...not that being 18th is shabby.  Garcia's last professional win, PGA or European, was in 2005.  Since then, he's had some massive struggles with either his putter or his attitude, and has been the victim of some relatively harsh media criticism.  Some of the criticism has been deserved.  Remember the incident at the 13th hole of the 2007 CA Championship when Garcia missed a par putt and spit into the cup?  I wouldn't even call it "spitting"...he didn't forcefully spit into the cup; rather, he...um...dropped some saliva after he bent over to pick up his ball in disgust.  Was he pissed?  Of course.  Frustrated?  Positively.  Was it immature and uncalled for?  Absolutely.  In this "gentleman's game" you just don't do stuff like that.

But I digress.

At Carnousie last year, Garcia missed a 10-foot part put on the final hole after blowing a 3-shot lead to win the Open Championship, forcing a playoff in which he lost to Pagraig Harrington.  Winning the Open Championship would have solidified Garcia's status as one of the top young players in the game, but that loss along with the press conference the followed (he mentioned that in any tournament it was more than just him against the field, it was him against the field AND the media) showed that El Niño was still immature and had some things to learn about his game and himself.

Coupled with his brilliant ball-striking, Garcia's putter really came through this week with some huge putts.  He drained more long putts than I can ever remember, and even though he still missed some of the shorter ones Garcia managed to be much more consistant on the greens that we've known him to be.  He's been putting in some quality time with Stan Utley, a former PGA pro who is now one of the top teachers in America, focusing mostly on putting and chipping.
On Sunday Garcia drained a 14-footer for par on the 9th, and then sunk a 47-footer on the 14th for a birdie.  His final putt for par on 18th was a testy 7-footer, which he made and was good enough to get into a playoff with Paul Goydos.  On the first playoff hole at 17, Goydos ballooned his tee shot and came just a few feet short of the green, while Garcia punched a wedge to the center of the green to within 7 feet, thanks partly to a gust of wind.  Signed, sealed, delivered.

However, something very important will get overlooked by all of this putting talk, and that's how frightening Garcia was off the tee.  The weekend turned windy, and Garcia hit 10 of 14 fairways on Saturday and 14 of 18 greens, which is just absurd considering the difficulty of the course as well as the windy conditions.  He hit all 14 fairways on Friday, and ended up 1st in driving accuracy and 1st in greens in regulation for the entire tournament. There are only a couple of other players that could have been that accurate - Fred Funk and Scott Verplank - both who missed the cut.  Personally, I think that this might have to rank as one of the best weeks of driving for any player ever, factoring in course difficulty and the late round gale-force winds.  Let's not mention the pressure to perform well after a 3-year winless drought.  It was a truly remarkable display of hitting.

You have to wonder now if Sergio might be able to pull some nifty tricks from up his sleeve and maybe capture his first major this year.  He's come close before as noted above at Carnoustie.  You aren't going to win the US Open if you can't find the fairways and that might be Tiger Wood's greatest weakness at those tournaments.  Of all the majors Tiger has collected, "only two" are US Opens.  While Tiger has won at Torrey Pines more times that I've filled my car up with gas last year, his spectacular putting and recovery is what allows him to be less than accurate off the tee and still give himself a fighting chance.  Sergio is essentially the opposite - his driving as of late is spectacular, but his putter might end up being his Achilles' heel. 

If Garcia can maintain the improvements he's made with the flatstick and even improve upon THAT, we may have to start calling El Niño "El Hombre."  Certainly a win at a tournament of this caliber against the most solid field in golf will be a great confidence booster. 

Posted by vaca22 at 01:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you've ever played any of the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series games from EA sports you'll notice that there are always a few courses that never seem to change from year to year.  One of them is the TPC Sawgrass, and with plenty good reason.  With the exception of the courses selected for the majors, TPC Sawgrass is perhaps the most notable course on the PGA Tour circuit.  It is stunningly beautiful, exceptionally difficult, and after a historic summer-long renovation in 2006 that included new sand and drainage, over 200 new trees and a massive Mediterranean-style 55,000 sqft clubhouse the TPC Sawgrass is clearly the crown jewel of the TPC courses, if not ALL the courses on the Tour's schedule.

Since its renovation for 2007, Sawgrass has received incredible praise from pros and amateurs alike.  Phil Mickelson recently commented that "they are the best bermuda greens I’ve ever seen."  That says a lot.  Just like Dye's Harbour Town, the greens are small, firm and fast.  Sawgrass seems to meander through forest and wasteland, requiring that the players play close attention to every shot.  Let's take a look, in no particular order, at the brilliantly designed holes that this course features...

Hole 11 - 588 Par 5

If you're standing on the tee and you don't hit your ball anywhere but straight, you're in jail (or worse!).  Water and sand all along the left edge of the tee area, with a cluster of islands in a sand bunker as well.  This hole was truly designed as a dynamic middle-length par 5, and attempting to reach the green in 2 requires a long drive down the right side of the fairway.  Oh, and don't let that huge overhanging tree on your right knock down your 2nd shot, if you even placed your drive this well.  The green is slightly elevated; come up short, and you're either in the beach or in the drink.  Go long and your approach shot might come in too shallow, bouncing and skidding off the green, possibly going into the water behind.

Hole 9 - 583 Par 5

There is simply no room for error on this hole.  As the hole progresses it becomes increasing difficult.  Players must land the ball in the fairway short of the bridge.  If they decided to go for the green in two,  there is sand all along the left, grass and bunkers to the right of the green which also slopes severely from front to back right and is very narrow.

Hole 17 - 137 Par 3

Perhaps the most famous par 3 on the planet.  At "only" 137 yards this would seem to be a mere chip shot for most of us, but when you think about the green as the target that you simply cannot miss (for obvious reasons!) and the swirling winds above, the difficulty is tremendous.  Balls have routinely bounced off the green if hit too shallow or close to the edges, and throwing a ball high in the air is a recipe for disaster as the wind can blow it completely off course.  A true classic in every sense of the word.

Hole 18 - 462 Par 4

Two things come to mind when I see this hole - 18 at Pebble Beach and 18 at Doral.  Like these holes, the finishing hole at 18 is spectacular and demanding.  Water is all the way down the left side so make sure you have your go-to fade working on this hole.  Large mounds and trees line the right side of the fairway to keep you in check.  Beware the squirrelly grass bunkers guarding the right front of the green as well. 

I believe that each hole at this course deserves an in-depth mention, but that would take forever.  I encourage you to check out the Players Championship website (http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r011/course/tour/course/p-index.html) and check out each hole.  Sawgrass is an amazing piece of property that tests every possible facet of the game.  The timing of the tournament would make it difficult to double as a US Open venue, but I would love to see this set up as an Open course just once.  It would be a treacherous to say the least.

Posted by vaca22 at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Let's give Trevor Immelman some props for putting on a clinic at The Masters this past week.  Consider the following stats:

• 1st in driving accuracy (48/56 fairways, 85.71%)
• 4th in driving distance (287.50)
• T2 in greens in regulation (51/72 greens, 70.83%)
• T3 in putting (1.56)

That's pretty much outstanding.  No one was as sharp as Immelman from tee to green, and he was able to maintain the laser-like focus for the entire 4 rounds.  His only mistake was a double on the 70th hole, the par 3 16th.  Whether his ball ended up in the drink because of a cross breeze or because of a mishit, he ended up with a double-bogey and still won by 3 strokes.  His drives were well-placed, his approach shots were never far from the pin, his pitching was incredible and he seemed to be making almost every putt.  He was able to put himself in perfect spots and as a result he only had 2 3-putts for the entire round.  Immelman became the first South African to win the Masters since Gary Player in 1978, exactly 30 years ago.

Immelman had a few obstacles to overcome on his way to his Masters victory.  Last year he contracted some kind of parasite and followed that up with a stomach infection which caused him to lose 22 lbs in 3 weeks.  It had taken Immelman 3 years to bulk up from 155 to 178 before contracting the parasite, essentially losing 3 years' work in 3 weeks.  In December, Immelman complained of having some chest pain and an MRI showed that he had a benign tumor.  After surgery he was out of action for approximately 6 weeks and then started practicing and preparing for the Masters.  This guy can obviously deal with adversity.  I hope he can win at least 1 other tournament this year, because that would really validate his win at Augusta.  Zach Johnson was able to do so last year and the way that Immelman was striking the ball suggests that he is in top form. 

Posted by vaca22 at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)