Golf News

Good to hear about Tiger Woods best mate and former PGA Tour player Notably Gay III is on the mend after suffering a heart attack last week in Dallas. Notably, who regularly delivers updates on what Tiger eats for breakfast dinner and tea for the Golf Channel suffered a mild coronary while working last week. Doctor's say he will make a full recovery and should, all being well, be telling us about Tiger's stools for many years to come. The Golf Channel released a statement saying "I'm extremely grateful for the expert care I received from Dr. Jenkins and his staff," Begay said. "I anticipate a full recovery and feel lucky to be at home resting with my family. I appreciate the outpouring of well wishes I've received from family, friends and fans and I will be back covering golf once I'm fully recovered."

For anyone that has ever stepped foot on Augusta National, you know the special feelings you get that even as a golf fan you never expected. The golf course, the history, the long walk past the 18th green down towards the most famous Corner in golf, to check out holes you’ve dreamed about your entire life. Those same feelings can come over a player that has been doing this for decades. Enter Phil Mickelson, the three-time Masters champion and default biggest draw this week at Augusta National after a certain someone pulled out because of back surgery. Mickelson is the modern day Jack Nicklaus at Augusta, knowing that this golf course and this week set up as well for him as any all year, and he knows when he departs Augusta on Sunday night without a green jacket, his year will end a little less special. Over the last 10 years, Mickelson has taken that outward drive on Magnolia Lane wearing green three times, and while the expectations might be slightly diluted this week because of...

Interesting to see in the latest patent applications from the big manufacturers that Titleist have filed a design very similar to current TaylorMade and Adams fairways with their speed pockets. Titleist describe in their patent a “golf club head with flexure.” What we are familiar with as a power slot is explained as a “flexure which provides compliance during an impact between the golf club head and a golf ball, and is tuned to vibrate, immediately after impact, at a predetermined frequency.” If this club does make it to market it will be a big departure from Titleist's usual classic designs but in the modern marketplace where TaylorMade and co are aggressively moving forward, it might just be the first shot to signal they are up for a fight. Speaking of TaylorMade, their latest patent filing is for an iron coated with  â€œouter layer of titanium carbide, typically comprising at least forty percent…carbon content.” Its sounds like its a distance feature, with the ...

The Course Designed by George Cobb, redesigned  by Tom Fazio and toughened up before last year’s staging, Quail Hollow hosts for the 12th time this week. Clocking in at almost 7,500 yards, the winning score came down from an average 15 under over the previous four years to 8 under last year when Derek Ernst beat David Lynn in a playoff. This year sees the unveiling of Bermuda Grass on all the greens, a matter which will could be a big equalizer in the field.  However Quail Hollow’s greatest defence is it’s difficulty off the tee, ranking over the past five years as one of the toughest on Tour. That also directly correlates to its proximity to the hole averages on shotlink which also rank at the top of difficulty.  The winning golfer will have an amazing driving week. The signature area on the course is the The Green Mile which covers the final three holes, two par fours sandwiching a par three. Weather for the tournament looks terrific with early rain and thunder se...

If there is one thing golfers love to do, it's tinker with new equipment. We are always looking for the latest driver, hottest putter and best pair of shoes to help us go low . Each Friday for the rest of the year we will be bringing you five items that we've enjoyed messing around with, no matter if it's equipment, apparel or just something random that we thought you'd enjoy. Here we go! Callaway X2 Hot Pro Fairway Wood While Callaway is proudly boasting the technology, and success, of their Big Bertha line, the X2 Hot sits quietly in the corner pleasing golfer after golfer that takes a chance with it. The X2 Hot Pro fairway wood (I have the 3-wood) is a great combination of the trending deep face fairway wood and the easy workability of a Callaway product. I've enjoyed batting this thing around, and almost feel at times that I don't even need to carry a driver when bringing this thing to the course (what up, Phil Mickelson!). www.callawaygolf.com , $229 ...

I think somehow we all believe deep down that Tiger will defy modern medicine and return to competitive golf much sooner than expected and yesterday Mark Steinberg gave an indication this may well be the case. Steinberg went so far as to say Woods isn't sitting immobile on the couch watching Games Of Thrones but rather out the back sharpening up his short game. "He's doing a little bit more and more each day," Steinberg said to ESPN. "He's getting to the point of light chipping and putting and the doctors and trainers seem to be pleased with where he is. He is on schedule but we don't know what that schedule means. I don't know when he intends to be playing competitively. "But I expect it to be this summer. I know that's a wide range, but as the weeks go by we'll be able to pinpoint an approximate time. It's still a little early for that. Nothing that has gone on from the day of the surgery until today gives me any pause to amend what...

I think everyone is agreed that Jordan Spieth is one hell of a nice young fellow.  Recently we saw him give a frank and open interview after The Masters, a couple of weeks back he gave a apology in an interview after getting a bit worked up on the course. All this niceness is a trait not lost on the nicest guy of them all, Tom Watson.  RBC Heritage organizers thought it would be nice this week to put the goodie-two-shoes guys together. And you guessed it, the USA Captain was full of praise for Spieth even using testicles to describe him! "I like the way he's played the game. He's got a passion and balls. I have to laugh, sometimes he gets up there and he hits a bad shot, and 'that's real close,' about 40 yards off the line, that's exactly what I would say, 'that's real close,' just muttering to yourself. But I remember when I was a kid and playing the game. He makes me relive some of the memories that I had when I was his age playing the game ou...

AUGUSTA, Ga. â€" On Saturday night, just after finishing his round, Bubba Watson offered up a curious quote about the pressure of playing for a Masters championship: "If I shoot 90 tomorrow I still have a green jacket," he said, "so it's not as bad." Not exactly the go-for-the-throat line you'd expect, but then, Watson hasn't ever done much in the game of golf in the expected fashion. So it's perfectly in keeping with his life and style that a guy who once wanted to drive the General Lee up Magnolia Lane became just the 17th man to win more than one Masters . His performance on Sunday lacked the dramatic playoff heroics of his first win, back in 2012, but the fact that Watson was able to hold onto a lead throughout the tournament â€" he was the leader at the end of Rounds 2 and 3, too â€" speaks to his growth as a golfer. He shrugged off an early bogey on No. 3, wasn't fazed by two Jordan Spieth birdies putting him two sho...

I wonder how much of Tiger’s injury is related to golf, and how much to pumping iron? Was the whole process of sculpting that upper body into a  muscle bound mass really undertaken to help his golf?  Or did he pump all that iron to look good for Lindsey? Or is looking buff the way to entice sponsors? Or the way to look cool when he’s hanging with celebs at basketball games? Tiger was much skinnier, much more lithe, and hit it a mile when he was a younger man.  I’m wondering (as a bad back sufferer myself) if the best course for Woods would be to lose weight, get more aerobically fit and tone the muscles more to long consistent power than than bursts of extreme power. The physique of a distance athlete as opposed to a weightlifter.  Being lighter would ease the pressure on his back, make stretching a damn site easier and potentially increase his range of motion. So now I’m asking again, how much of looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger is related to golf and how...

Each week for the remainder of the golf season we will be rolling out a mailbag, with any and all questions invited from readers and fans around the world. Have a good question you want answered? Hit me up on Twitter  at @shanebacon or e-mail me at shanebaconblogs@yahoo.com and we will try to get to it in the coming weeks. Here we go ... @shanebacon what active PGA golfer that ALREADY has won a major will win the most majors throughout the rest of his career? â€" Slammin' Sammy Meade (@zmgrop) April 23, 2014 Bacon : First, I'm going to assume that we're talking youth here, because the answer if we were discussing everyone would obviously be Tiger Woods and his 14 majors. So, I'm throwing out anyone with three or more majors or anyone that is 40 or older. My default answer is Rory McIlroy, just because he already has two different major wins and by a combined 16 shots. McIlroy might be in a bit of a major slump right now, but as I've said before, Rory...

I bought the new issue of Golf Digest with Paulina Gretzky on the front cover.  I ran straight up to my bedroom with a box of Kleenex and shut the curtains. What I got when I opened the centrefold was not what I was expecting.   Follow @golfcentraldoc   Brace yourself, here’s the centrefold! Technorati Tags: Golf Digest Paulina Gretzky , Funny Pic , Monty

I’m still not sure why the commentator (think it’s Mark Rolfing) was reassuringly prophesying impending doom for Will MacKenzie when he said “He’s going to hit this one fat  on the upslope” but luckily that’s not what happened.  The one liner made the shot even better. MacKenzie made the toughest shot in golf look like a walk in the park, as soon as he made contact it was tracking into the hole. Cue the back tracking by the guys in booth! “Mark said he had to guard from hitting it fat,” came in the analysis after Mark said “he’s going to hit this one fat on the upslope.” Follow @golfcentraldoc What a shot! Technorati Tags: Will MacKenzie Bunker Eagle Video , 2014 Valero Texas Open , Mark Rolfing

I’m still not sure why the commentator (think it’s Mark Rolfing) was reassuringly prophesying impending doom for Will MacKenzie when he said “He’s going to hit this one fat  on the upslope” but luckily that’s not what happened.  The one liner made the shot even better. MacKenzie made the toughest shot in golf look like a walk in the park, as soon as he made contact it was tracking into the hole. Cue the back tracking by the guys in booth! “Mark said he had to guard from hitting it fat,” came in the analysis after Mark said “he’s going to hit this one fat on the upslope.” Follow @golfcentraldoc What a shot! Technorati Tags: Will MacKenzie Bunker Eagle Video , 2014 Valero Texas Open , Mark Rolfing

I posted several of the players Masters outfits a few days ago but  Nike are really pushing Rory McIlroy posting this updated scripting complete with long sleeve sweaters. Maybe now that Tiger’s not playing, Rory gets to wear the nice gear!  And I’m not joking.  Some of Nike’s previous listings for Rors have been hideous. Follow @golfcentraldoc   Here’s what he wore in 2013.  See what I mean? I’m still not over that Saturday gear. Technorati Tags: 2014 US Masters Players Outfits

Ben Martin leads after a low scoring first day at the 2014 Zurich Classic with a ten under par 62. It's not often nowadays that a course on the PGA Tour roster succumbs to such low scoring but the ease of TPC Louisiana yesterday brought a whole raft of lower ranked players to the top of the leaderboard. But is it good to have an easy playing golf course or should we see the world's finest professionals play stiff tests every week? If you look back at recent weeks we've had some great tournaments on tough courses. Hilton Head, Augusta, The Oaks Course in San Antonio, Bay Hill, Innisbrook and the newly refurbished Doral have all played incredibly tough. By contrast then when a course plays easy like TPC Louisiana yesterday and over 100 players shoot par or better, we cant help but feel a little short changed. Some event organizers are of the opinion that spectators and viewers want to see players make birdies and thus set up the courses for low scoring.  I think it's bet...

That strange object that Matt Every’s caddie Derek Mason was holding throughout the final round at Bay Hill wasn’t the new Bushnell Pro X7 rangefinder after all; it was a simple old compass. It is written in the rules of golf that use of a compass is allowed under Rule 14-3.   Follow @golfcentraldoc A compass only provides directional information and does not gauge or measure variable conditions or assist the player in his play. Rangefinders such as the Pro X7 are allowed during practice rounds only. If you haven’t see Mason giving Every his expletive laden lay up instructions yet, make sure you check it out here !   Technorati Tags: Matt Every Caddie , Derek Mason , Compass , Pro X7

On  Golfbidder you'll find every conceivable make and model of Titleist driver and where better than to test the latest 913 against its five most recent predecessors than on the state of the art simulator in the new Golfbidder store just outside London . We consider the 913 D2 and it's older brothers Titleist's more forgiving family of drivers and from a sample of 10 drives with each we got rid of the longest and shortest to leave a representative sample of five drives from which we took our data.  All drivers were 9.5 degree loft with standard stock stiff shafts. Here's the video of our test and conclusions we've drawn. We think you'll be surprised at how good the eldest driver performed! Follow @golfcentraldoc Conclusions The 913D2 driver was overall best on test with an average clip of 287 yards at a swing speed of approx 110 mph.  That's seven yards further than the 910D2 with a little lower launch angle.  As well as looking classy it has the advantage...

On  Golfbidder you'll find every conceivable make and model of Titleist driver and where better than to test the latest 913 against its five most recent predecessors than on the state of the art simulator in the new Golfbidder store just outside London . We consider the 913 D2 and it's older brothers Titleist's more forgiving family of drivers and from a sample of 10 drives with each we got rid of the longest and shortest to leave a representative sample of five drives from which we took our data.  All drivers were 9.5 degree loft with standard stock stiff shafts. Here's the video of our test and conclusions we've drawn. We think you'll be surprised at how good the eldest driver performed! Follow @golfcentraldoc Conclusions The 913D2 driver was overall best on test with an average clip of 287 yards at a swing speed of approx 110 mph.  That's seven yards further than the 910D2 with a little lower launch angle.  As well as looking classy it has the advantage...

Word from inside the ropes at The Masters is that the Aussies are bombing it and while all the talk revolves around Adam Scott and Jason Day, Marc Leishman is 80/1 in the betting and goes right under the radar. Leishman lead after the first round last year and hung tough to play with Adam Scott in the final round and tie fourth.  That result triggered two more consecutive top 10’s at the RBC Heritage and The Players . Follow @golfcentraldoc The 30 year old also started 2014 well with a top 5 at The Sony Open and a T2 at The Farmers. Stats watchers will be impressed with Leishman’s average clip off the tee of 293 yards, his number one rank in holes per eagle and his topping of nearly every greens in regulation stat from 125 yards and in. Certainly worth an each way look from 80/1 in the betting. Check out my full 2014 US Masters Betting Preview and Tips post here . Technorati Tags: Marc Leishman , 2014 US Masters Betting Preview and Tips

I really enjoyed testing the last five Ping drivers against each other on the simulator/launch monitor at Golfbidder HQ recently. The blurb would have us always believe that newest is best, but is that really the case?  I think you will find our conclusions pretty interesting. Follow @golfcentraldoc We took standard 9.5 degree versions of all five drivers with stock stiff shafts and gathered data from 10 drives with each.  We then took away the best and worst drives to leave a representative sample of five drives with each from which our results were derived. I’ll let you look at the video and results for yourself but suffice to say, those of you who still game a Ping G5 or G10 will be pleasantly surprised! Technorati Tags: Ping Driver Comparison Test , G25 , Video , Golfbidder

This past weekend saw a lot of great story lines and we are here to give you the good and the bad of it. Here are our winners and losers from the past week in golf. Winners Bubba Watson â€" Not only did he win his second Masters in three years, but he did it by absolutely dominating Augusta National. This guy sees golf shots that most others can't even think of (check his drive on the 13th on Sunday), and he's able to work the ball so well at Augusta National that it seems from here on out he should be one of the favorites when the tour gets to Georgia each season. Bubba's second Masters win just shows that while he can get in his own way at times on the golf course, he is as talented as anyone on the PGA Tour, and when the putts are dropping, he can win any tournament on any golf course in the world (especially Augusta National). Jordan Spieth â€" The 20-year-old didn't win on Sunday, but his play all week gained him a ton of fans and allowed the world ...

Sad news for fans of comedy in that R&A boss Peter Dawson is to relinquish his post in September 2015. We're all going to miss the funny way he talks out the side of his mouth. We've had our fun with Peter over the years, like the time I reported he was taking over from Les Dawson as the new host of Blankety Blank . Dawson has had his player critics too, not least in Muirfield when Ian Poulter blamed him for the ridiculous pin positions  tweeting that the 18th "needs a windmill and clown face." And then there was the thorny issue of Dawson and female R&A members. He also royally pissed us off in January 2012 when he gave three bloody good reasons why Portrush couldn't host an Open Championship . Hopefully the next incumbent can bring that one over the line. If you are interested in the job, here's the ad! The recruitment of Mr Dawson’s successor will be handled by international executive search firm Spencer Stuart and the position will be advertised ...

Miguel Angel Jimenez is at a crossroads in his golfing career.  Down the road signposted "Seniors" he can see lots of gentle golf, bags of cash and the sun setting.  Down the other road the sun is just rising and is full of young whipper snappers claiming to be top five in the world, is raucous, mysterious and entirely unpredictable. So which one should he go down? Miguel played his first event on the Champions Tour last week, the Greater Gwinnett Championship, in front of one man and his dog.  It's as if they always let the debutante win on the Seniors (18 first timers have won!) as a way to entice them to stay and he duly obliged beating Langer and Couples in the process. But you get the sense that The Mechanic is not destined to be any ordinary 50 year old just happy to fade away on the Seniors.  He made it very clear that his main focus was on trying to accumulate enough points to make Paul McGinley's European Ryder Cup team. "I'm playing very well and no...

Volvo China Open, Genzon GC, Shenzhen, China  The Volvo China Open has been played since 1995 but its one tournament that never seems to have a true home.  After two years at Binhai, it’s on the move again, this time moving to the short and tricky Genzon Golf Club.  It’s always tough to tip winners on a virgin course, but we still have current and Asian form to work with and an American who likes this week every year! Related: 2014 Zurich Classic Of New Orleans Betting Tips and Expert Picks Jason Dufner 12/1 So why would Jason Dufner, the all time biggest earner in the history of the Zurich Classic Of New Orleans, choose to come to play in China this week?  It can only be down to a massive appearance fee given that this is the 20th anniversary staging.  Last time we saw Dufner his shoulders were down at Augusta but don’t forget about that T14 at Innisbrook and a T9 at the difficult new Doral when assessing his season so far.  Think he’s well worth a...

AUGUSTA, Ga. â€" A crowd of thousands had gathered around the practice green at Augusta, standing ten deep and leaning over the railing of the clubhouse's famous veranda. Billy Payne, chairman of Augusta National, was in the midst of introducing dozens of representatives of golf associations from around the world. Adam Scott, defending champion, looked every bit as smooth as he ever does. A sea of green jackets flanked them all. And in the middle of it all, the man of the hour, the one for whom all this pomp and circumstance was necessary, sat up straight, fingers steepled on his knees, looking exactly like a fidgety kid waiting outside the principal's office. Bubba Watson, 2014 Masters champion, is an absolute mess of contradictions that somehow come together to form a world-beating whole. Start right at the very top: This is a guy named "Bubba" who's won the most prestigious golf tournament on Earth not once, but twice. "Bubba" is a name f...

Ivan Lendl has done it all in tennis. Eight grand slams and then a successful coach to Andy Murray. When I heard that he and Andy had split last week I immediately pictured a heated row, maybe a pushing match and then a storming off the court! Follow @golfcentraldoc The reality is much more bizarre; they love each other but Lendl couldn’t commit to the 25 weeks coaching Andy required because it was interfering with his golfing schedule. "To really do it right, you need to be there for 20, 25 weeks," Lendl told a reporter. "Looking ahead, I couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it." So how much golf does 54 year Lendl play?  A lot.  This year he has already logged over 45 competitive rounds on the US handicapping system and plays off scratch at Torrington and Windsor Golf Clubs in Florida.  He regularly plays in the US Open sectional qualifiers and has played on the Web.com Tour. Now that’s what you call getting your priorities in order!   Technorat...

I cannot ever recall Masters with so many top players on the treatment table.  Here’s a look at five Augusta specialists who are under the weather. Hunter Mahan: Hunter withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational because of lower back pain. He only managed one hole of his final round before walking off the course.  Mahan says he first felt pain at Doral.  It is unclear as yet if he will make Augusta. Tiger Woods: Also suffering from low back pain due to a bulging disk. Suffered in his last two events, wont play again until Masters. Follow @golfcentraldoc Justin Rose: Season progression delayed and just back playing after a shoulder injury. Jason Day: Forced to delay comeback from a injured thumb. Hasn’t played since winning the matchplay on 23rd February. Louis Oosthuizen: Playing through ongoing back problems that have seen his form slump since winning winning the Volvo Golf Champions in January.   Technorati Tags: 2014 US Masters , Injured players...

Matt Kuchar's smile.  If he was told the world was going to end in five minutes, he would be smiling. If Nick Faldo pulled his pants down and slapped his bum, Kuch wouldn't mind; he'd still be smiling.  Hang on, that DID happen . So why the hell is Matt Kuchar so damn happy? First, he's from that set of ultra polite people that make the world a better place. There's more please and thank you  in the average Kuchar day than a  busy Chinese Take Away. Second, Matt is one hell of a positive guy.  Instead of wallowing away in self pity over what happened in San Antonio and Texas and even on the 17th in Harbour Town, he wore the smile and waited his turn to win. And it came. Not that Kuchar needs to win to be smiling.  Anyone who dipped as low as he did after becoming US Amateur Champion and turning pro to then falling into golfing obscurity before being reborn in the late noughties is bound to appreciate his current position more than most. Matt's no saint thou...