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In The Bag: Brian Gay - 2009 Verizon Heritage Winner
- by14STIX on24th April, 2009 inBlog
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Fairway Wood: Tour Edge Exotics CB2 3-wood (13 degrees; Mitsubishi Diamana Blueboard 83 shaft)
Brian Gay absolutely dusted the field at the 2009 Verizon Heritage - posting a final round 64 en route to a 10 shot victory - the largest margin of victory on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson dismantled the field at the 2006 Bellsouth Classic by 13 shots. Gay's victory is clearly the most dominating performance on tour - capped by that final round 64 that included 6 birdies, an eagle and one lone bogey (he only recorded 2 bogies all week). That's how you close out a tournament!
Here's a peek inside BG's golf bag:
Driver: TaylorMade R9 (9.5 degrees; Fujikura Motore shaft)
Hybrid: Mizuno CLK FLI-HI (20 degrees; Aldila NV Hybrid 85 shaft)
Irons (3-4): Mizuno MX-900
Irons (5-8): Mizuno MP-60
Irons (9-PW): Mizuno MP-32
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (56 and 59 degrees)
Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi C-Series
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 (2009)
Footwear: FootJoy Classics Dry Premiere
Glove: FootJoy StaSof
Apparel: Sligo Wear 
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Ghetto Golf
- by14STIX on21st April, 2009 inBlog
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Jay Busbee over at Devil Ball Golf has the scoop on a golf video game that could be coming to an Xbox or PS3 near you. Somehow, I don't think this one is going to get Commissioner Finchem's stamp of approval - although it would be kinda cool to see Jim Furyk or Kevin Sutherland go all GTA: San Andreas on someone.
H/T Jay Busbee [Devil Ball Golf]
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Slump Busting
- by14STIX on16th April, 2009 inBlog
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Slumps are an inevitable part of golf. Even the best players in the world go through them (that's sort of comforting, I suppose). NBC Golf Analyst Jimmy Roberts has written a book entitled Breaking the Slump: How Great Players Survived Their Darkest Moments in Golf - and What You Can Learn from Them.
Our friends over at Hugging Harold Reynolds caught up with Roberts for a little Q&A about the book and what golfers can take away from reading it. The HHR interview is really insightful - uncovering that Roberts intended to write a book about golf but ended up writing about a much broader theme - how successful people handle adversity.
Roberts also reveals that after writing the book he came away with a greater appreciation of the role that confidence plays not only in golf but in everything we do. He quotes David Duval who said, "At all costs, protect your confidence." That's a very poignant remark from a player that has been to the top of his profession, fallen all the way to the bottom and attempted to work his way back up.
What things do you do to help protect your confidence on and off the course?
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Masters Fashion - Round 1 Winners/Losers
- by14STIX on10th April, 2009 inBlog
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The Masters being the first big golf event of the year means it's the ideal time for golf apparel manufacturers to showcase the new season's colors, fabrics and styles. It also gives the players the opportunity to display a bit of personality against the backdrop of what is normally a very sartorially conservative Augusta National. While the golf played yesterday was resoundingly superb, the players' outfits was more of a mixed bag.
Here are the winners and losers from Round 1:
Winners:
1. Shingo Katayama: This guy has absolute stones to rock a cowboy hat at Augusta year after year. There were a few others in green trousers out there but Shingo's hat and sweater set him apart. Plus he played lights out too.
2. Tom Watson / Geoff Ogilvy: While green is the norm around Augusta, Tom and Geoff were feeling blue.
3. Danny Lee / Ryo Ishikawa: These two are likely to be major fixtures here at Augusta and they kicked their first appearnce off in style. Danny wen't with a nice lime green shirt with a retro chest pocket. Ryo, the rockstar that he is, went with this fast looking red/black combo. Although someone needs to tell Ryo and Rory it's time for a trim.
4. Larry Mize: The '87 Masters champ was played great and looked sharp doing so. The pictures don't do the color justice, but in HD the limone shirt and black trousers really popped.
Losers:
1. Phil Mickelson: All that was missing was the red nose and the wig. It looked like he was Puttin' on the Ritz (...super duper!). Save the white belt for white pants.
2. Zach Johnson: The '07 champ knows that the 4th of July isn't in April, right?
3. Gary Player: Sorry, Gary. I know this is your last Masters, but even this guy thought the green on green was too much.
4. Bernhard Langer: Um, it's The Masters, not a Bundesliga football match there Bernie.
5. Rory Sabbatini: Perhaps the only thing louder than Sabbo's mouth was this getup.
...And of course I can't not mention Mr. Swoosh. Yesterday's ensem wasn't a winner and certainly not a loser, but I wasn't sure what to make of the sleeves. On TV it looked like Tiger had on two shirts. Oh, and Stevie continues to go sans shirt under his coveralls. Nike please do something about this.
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Masters Photo Montage - Day 1
- by14STIX on10th April, 2009 inBlog
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(Photo Credit: Fred Vuich/SI)
A look back at the best images from Day 1 at the 2009 Masters:
Check out the work by SI's team of photographers here.
Golfweek's got a slide show running here. Man, the pride on Arnie's face kinda tugs at the ol' heartstrings, doesn't it?
Augusta.com has a great gallery of action shots here.
[Tip o' the cap to Geoff Shackleford for the links. Checkout his fantastic blog here.]
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The Masters: Day 1
- by14STIX on9th April, 2009 inBlog
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Didn't today feel like a return to normalcy at The Masters today? I just had a great feeling about it right from the start with Arnie kicking things off as the sun rose up over the dogwoods&pines. The weather warmed to the mid 70's (and not a cloud in the sky). The level of play was superb (38 of 96 players breaking par and over half of the field is at Even Par or better) and finally the roars returned to the back nine. This is The Masters that I can't wait for every season. The last two were cold and gray. The play was solid and even dramatic at times but more of grind than the blossoming of the season to come. The past two never felt right - the weather, the course, the golf - none of it match my memories of Masters past.
Colin Sheehan, one half of the crew over at Punchbowl Golf, penned a great piece about Augusta National as it is today in relation to what it was. While Colin believes that technology has taken away a lot of the creativity and drama that made The Masters the most thrilling of the majors, I think that the low scoring today sets up this weekend for a memorable finish as the players near the top take stock of exactly where they are and what it means. There's no amount of technology available that can help these players overcome the significance of winning The Masters.
Bring on Day 2.
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Vijay Singh Is Good At Golf
- by14STIX on8th April, 2009 inBlog
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We've heard that the Monday/Tuesday practice rounds at The Masters are generally the best days to be at the event. The players are more accessible because the crowds are generally smaller and the overall mood is pretty relaxed. Apparently, players are encouraged to have a go at skipping a ball across the pond and onto the 16th green. We're not talking about skipping like you'd skip a rock - we're talking about playing a shot that skips the ball across the pond.
During Tuesday's practice round Vijay Singh not only skipped one across the pond onto the green but went ahead and dropped it into the bottom of the cup for, you know, a hole-in-one. Well, it probably isn't official or anything because it looks like the shot was played off of the the drop area and was part of a practice round - but c'mon. How ridiculously cool is this? We know that Vijay isn't a fan favorite but we're kind of hoping that he's able to carry some of this magic over to the event and make another run at a Green Jacket.
Oh, and the odds of a PGA Tour player making a hole in one is about 2,500 to 1 (12,500 to 1 for an amateur). What do you think the odds of a skip-shot hole-in-one during The FREAKING Masters are?
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The 907 yard Par 3 - No Joke
- by14STIX on1st April, 2009 inBlog
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This is not an April Fools joke. This 830 meter / 907 yard hole actually does exist. It's the signature hole at the Legends Golf and Safari Resort - something they've dubbed the Extreme 19th Hole. The tee box is poised some 1,410 feet above ground at the top of Hanglip Mountain and is only accessible by helicopter (naturally). Back in February, Padraig Harrington bested Raphael Jacquelin in a one hole playoff by becoming the first player to record a par 3 on this overgrown single-shotter.Normally, I'm a golf architecture purist but I have to say that this would be a really cool experience. Maybe even cooler than getting to hit balls of the heli-pad at the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai.
However, there are a few things in golf that should not be messed with and one is the sanctity of the 19th Hole. So, my suggestion to the Legends Golf and Safari Resort is pick a new name or install a proper 19th Hole at the top of the Extreme 19th Hole. A 907 yard Par 3, a glass of Bourbon and a steak sandwich would be a pretty difficult to top - especially at 1,410 feet!
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Must Have: Travis Headcovers
- by14STIX on31st March, 2009 inBlog
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You're a golfer and that means your family and friends get you golf related items for every holiday or birthday. This is generally a problem because unless your friends and family play golf they have absolutely no clue what they should buy someone that plays a lot of golf.
Let me guess. You've probably received a few of these. And have one of these. And have been forced to wear one of these to please an Aunt or Grandmother.
This past Christmas my brother-in-law hooked me up with one of the coolest golf presents I've ever been given. A custom headcover from Travis Headcovers. If you're looking for a way to add some style to your bag that will set it apart from the rest - then you definitely need a Travis Headcover. They've got plenty of styles and colors to choose from and they'll even do something totally custom like they did with the 14 STIX logo on mine (check it out: I guess they thought mine was cool enough to put in their photo gallery!).
Like I said, these make great gifts so hook up a friend with one for their birthday or your dad for Father's Day. Or just buy one, wrap it up and give it to yourself for being so awesome.
Oh, and let's have some fun with this. Use the comments section below to tell us about the best&worst golf gifts you've received.
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A few more pics for your enjoyment:
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Tiger & Stevie: Awkward Hi-Five #129
- by14STIX on30th March, 2009 inBlog
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Mariano Rivera, MJ, LeBron, Kobe, Elway - all get the job done under pressure, but no one does it with the same jaw-dropping regularity as Woods.
Expect awkward hi-five #130 in two weeks at Augusta. It'll probably look something like this:
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© 14 STIX GOLF 2008.
