Bethpage Black Golf Course Review: The Front-9 (2019 PGA Championship)

I watched the boisterous 2002 and 2009 U.S. Open championships and marveled at Bethpage Black's gargantuan length and legendary bunkering.  I saw the notorious "Warning" sign hundreds of times online and dreamed about one day taking on this A.W. Tillinghast masterpiece.  And in May I finally teed it up on this world-renown track for the first time. 

 

I didn't walk up to the first tee pounding my chest and humming like Matthew McConaughey in The Wolf of Wall Street, but I was definitely confident for the impending challenge.  In the end I didn't solve the puzzle that is Bethpage, but Black didn't exactly chew me up and spit me out either. 

Destination Kohler Announces Whistling Straits & Blackwolf Run Course Stay and Play Packages

Destination Kohler, Wisconsin's golf leader and home to four internationally acclaimed Pete Dye-designed courses across Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run has announced all courses are now officially open for play. 

 

You can now book stay and play packaged at The Straits Course and Irish Course at Whistling Straits, and the River Course and Meadow Valleys Course at Blackwolf Run. 

Bag Boy Nitron Push Cart Review: Ready To Go Convenience

The Bag Boy Nitron Push Cart is a revolutionary new push cart with an automatic open feature unlike anything else on the market.  The Nitron Piston Technology transforms the Nitron from a compact folded cart into an open and ready to go in seconds. 

 

The nitrogen powered auto open technology creates a simple two-step open making opening the cart effortless as the front wheel automatically pops out into place.  Folding the Nitron is also a simple two-step process, folding in seconds to a compact size, ready to be stored. 

The 2019 Wells Fargo Championship: Inside the Course (Quail Hollow Club Review)

Quail Hollow Golf Club hosts the Wells Fargo Championship this week and is a stern test of golf, but one that rewards good shots with scoring opportunities.  Thick Bermuda rough puts a priority on keeping the ball in play off the tee, and sharp doglegs require proper positioning to avoid to avoid penal consequences. 

 

Tom Fazio's redesign of the 7,554 yard, par-71 original George W. Cobb layout removed some trees to open up the course and lines of play, and rewards players who are great tee-to-green tacticians.  With a good variety of holes that challenge you to make strategic decisions off the tee and on approach, players without a mastery of each club in their bag are doomed to struggle. 

5 Things to Know about the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship

The Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club once again boasts one of the strongest fields of the PGA Tour season with an impressive pedigree of major champions, past winners, and the game's biggest names. 

 

Quail Hollow is a par-71, 7554-yard George W. Cobb track designed to identify the most deserving winner.  It has earned its reputation as one of the most dangerous places in golf, and imposes a high standard of play from tee to green. 

Volvik Setting Sales Records with Marvel Avengers Collaboration

Volvik is known the world over for its high performance golf balls featuring more than 23 vibrant color options.  And the company is reporting record-setting sales of the Marvel x Volvik collaboration of Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider Man Vivid 4-Ball Sets. 

 

Since the release of the widely anticipated Disney film Avengers: Endgame in U.S. theaters April 26th, demand for the golf ball sets has been extraordinary.  The film, setting box-office records, already is the highest-grossing film of the year and the 10th highest-grossing film of all time. Since the movie's release Volvik has witnessed unprecedented demand from golfers, retailers, and pro shops across the country for these Marvel special edition sets. 

Bettinardi Golf Signs Rising LPGA Tour Star Yu Liu

Bettinardi Golf has signed LPGA Tour rising star Yu Liu to become the first ever LPGA player to join their tour staff.  Liu will play her Studio Stock 28 putter with Tour Preferred F.I.T. Face Milling. 

 

Liu is currently inside the top 50 in the Rolex Rankings, is the number 2 ranked player from China, and joins China's number one male player Haotong Li on the rapidly growing tour staff for Bettinardi. 

PING Valor 400 Putter Preview: Elevating Stability and Forgiveness to a New Level

PING has expanded their lineup of Sigma putters with the release of the Valor 400.  This putter is the highest MOI Sigma 2 putter in company history, and is available for custom fitting and purchase beginning today at authorized PING golf shops around the world and at www.pinggolf.com. 

 

The counter-balanced mallet is engineered with a 400-gram head and custom built with a 15″ grip and a 38″ shaft with 50 grams added to the butt end to promote a stable, pendulum-style stroke. 

The Art of Thermo Regulation: A Closer Look at the Galvin Green Multi Layer Concept and Technologies

Textile engineer Sofia Ask Klason has been with Galvin Green for more than two years as Product Manager, and she is responsible for all of the collections.  Klason has a deep knowledge of manufacturing methods, fabric technology and textile chemistry, and that allows her to provide golfers with the best Galvin Green garments around the world. 

 

So there's probably no one better suited to answer questions about how best to stay warm on the golf course.  Here's a a really interesting Q&A with Sofia, where she answers some questions I know we've all had at one point or another, and also explains what makes Galvin Green's technologies such game-changers. 

New World Handicap System Set to Roll Out Beginning in 2020

Golf's new World Handicap System, which is designed to bring the game of golf under a single set of Rules for handicapping and provide a more consistent measure of players' ability between different regions of the world, is set for implementation starting in 2020. 

 

Education has begun with events being held in Singapore, South Africa, Great Britain and Ireland, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Continental Europe, Canada, the Caribbean and the USA.  A secure resource portal, accessible via whs.com, has also been launched to provide national associations with a library of materials that they can use to help support their own education efforts. 

Fred Couples Named 2019 Ambassador of Golf - Will be Honored at Bridgestone Senior Players Championship

World Golf Hall of Fame member and 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples has been named the 2019 recipient of the Ambassador of Golf Award, which is presented by the FirstEnergy Foundation.  The Ambassador of Golf Award honors a person who has fostered the ideals of the game on an international level and whose concern for others extends beyond the golf course. 

 

Couples will be presented the award on Thursday, July 11 at Firestone Country Club following the first round of the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship.  FirstEnergy Corp. and Westfield are the Founding Partners for this PGA Tour Champions major championship debuting at Firestone Country Club, July 10th to the 14th. 

Mitsubishi and Aldila Golf Shafts Pick Up Two More Wins On PGA and European Tour

The Mitsubishi and Aldila shafts train just keeps rolling, and there's no sign it's going to slow down anytime soon.  Mitsubishi and Aldila won Sunday on the PGA and European Tours, making that multiple wins for both brands this season. 

 

Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer both played Aldila shafts in their drivers helping them win the Zurich Classic in team play on the PGA Tour on Sunday.  While Jorge Campillo won the Trophee Hassan II using a Mitsubishi shaft in his driver on the European Tour. 

Aerotech SteelFiber Shafts Top LA Open and Race To The CME Globe

Aerotech SteelFiber graphite iron shafts, designed and manufactured by Aerotech Golf, won the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open at Wilshire Country Club on Sunday, and now hold the top-3 positions in the Race to the CME Globe standings. 

 

Minjee Lee shot 14-under par for the tournament and played SteelFiber i80 graphite shafts in her irons during her dominating victory.  In the final round Lee was automatic with her irons, hitting an incredible 16 of 18 greens in regulation. 

KBS Golf Shafts Win Big In The Big Easy

KBS shafts formed part of the winning team down in The Big Easy on Sunday as Ryan Palmer teamed up with Jon Rahm for a winning score of 26-under par to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. 

 

Palmer played KBS Tour 130X shafts in his irons, and Tour 125 Stiff+ shafts in his wedges for his fourth career PGA Tour win and first in nine years. 

G/FORE MG4.1 Golf Shoes Preview: Limited Edition Run Available May 1st, 2019

Luxury lifestyle brand and golf footwear innovator G/FORE has announced that it's making a very limited quantity of its new MG4.1 crossover goles shoe available to purchase on www.gfore.com on a first-come first-served basis from May 1st. 

 

This decision follows unrivaled demand from loyal G/FORE customers eager to get their hands on the innovative MG4.1 shoe that launched to much acclaim at the PGA Show in January.  Once this limited quantity is sold, the MG4.1 won't be available again until the full range is officially launched in June. 

ECCO Golf S-Lite Golf Shoes Preview: Breaking Boundaries In Lightweight Design

ECCO Golf has released a new hybrid shoe called the S-Lite, which breaks boundaries as the brand's lightest-ever leather golf shoe ever. 

 

The S-Lite is a fresh, innovative approach to golf shoe design for ECCO, blending cutting-edge engineering and comfort to ensure an ultra-light on-course experience. 

Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer WITB What's In The Bag - The Golf Equipment Rahm and Palmer Used to Win The 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

John Rahm and Ryan Palmer won the PGA Tour's only team event on Sunday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, holding off the team of Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood by three strokes at TPC Louisiana. 

 

For Rahm, it was his third career Tour victory, having now won in each of his three seasons on Tour.  While Palmer picked up his fourth career victory, but his first since winning the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii. 

If Rory Wins the PGA Championship, Your TaylorMade M5 or M6 Driver is Free!

If Rory McIlroy wins the PGA Championship next month at Bethpage Black, you could get a TaylorMade M5 or M6 driver for free.  Yes you read that correctly, a free M5 or M6 driver.  Boom! 

 

DICK'S and Golf Galaxy are running a promotion where anyone who buys a TaylorMade M5 or M6 driver between April 20th and May 15th will have their purchase price completely refunded if Rory wins.  And given how Rory has been playing of late, this might be a great time to pick up that new TaylorMade driver if you've been eyeballing one. 

Sea Pines Resort "Play Where The Pros Play" Golf Package: Take Your Shot at Harbour Town, Atlantic Dunes, and Heron Point

You watched all the great action at Harbour Town Golf Links last week at the RBC Heritage.  And you saw my hole-by-hole Harbour town review here on my blog and on social media.  And now the legendary Sea Pines Resort is giving you the chance to play Harbour Town for yourself, along with world-renown Atlantic Dunes and Heron Point in an incredible "Play Where The Pros Play" golf package. 

 

The package includes one round of golf per guest on Hilton Head's three top-ranked courses: Harbour Town and Heron Point, both designed by Pete Dye, as well as Atlantic Dunes, designed by Davis Love III, a five-time RBC Heritage winner.  And bonus!  You can also enjoy complimentary afternoon replays on Heron Point and Atlantic Dunes (cart fee not included). 

The 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans: Inside the Course (TPC Louisiana Review)

The last time a two-man format was used in an official PGA Tour event, "internet" wasn't even a word yet, Sergio Garcia was in diapers, and the PGA Tour changed its name to the "TPA Tour," for Tournament Players Association (fortunately it reverted back the following year). 

 

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans has been an annual Tour event since 1958.  And this year for the third consecutive playing, the event will ditch traditional stroke play and borrow from the flourishing format used in the Ryder Cup and President Cup.