Tiger & Phil: Heavyweight Championship

Today's Ford Championship at Doral was one of the best and most entertaining PGA events I've watched in a long time. Tiger was spectacular with a 63 which included knocking his drive onto a 372 yard par 4 (330 carry to the middle of the green).

Phil, despite driving the ball poorly, answered Tiger's charge with a fine 66.

The final round tomorrow should be a lot of fun. Tiger and Phil are both playing well. Could this be the big heavyweight championship bout we've all been wanting?

How much are you willing to pay for golf?

Jay Flemma (A Walk In The Park) and I have been discussing the expense of golf.

Golf is not cheap. The equipment is expensive. The green fees are expensive. You spend 4-5 hours away from work where you could be MAKING money.

How much are you willing to spend on a round of golf? How much do you spend over the course of a year for equipment, rounds, ibuprophen, hotdogs and all related items? I'm almost afraid to calculate it.

I had a theft in my garage a couple of years ago. I frantically checked to see if my clubs had been stolen and thank goodness they hadn't. It was at that point that I realized how much it would cost me to replace them. $400/driver, $300-400 for fairway woods, $1000 irons, $125-150x4 wedges, $200 putter, $200 bag, $100 premium balls, $100 rain gear, $50 umbrella..... If my golf bag had been ripped off I would have been out well over $3000.

CLICK HERE to discuss this in the forums.

Doral - Maxfli Prototype Test 1

DORAL: Despite the 18th hole being the hardest hole on the PGA tour, Jose Maria Olazabal, Phil Mickelson and 2 others are at -8 (64) for the first round of the Ford Championship at Doral. Tiger is 1 stroke behind. Is this going to be another track meet like the Bob Hope?

MAXFLI BLACKMAX: I was able to play 18 holes today with one of the soon to be released Maxfli BlackMax golf balls. I don't think 1 round gives me enough data to do a full review but my first observations are:

1. The ball feels amazing and is extremely responsive off my irons. I laser beamed several shots right at the flag today and they stuck right there. Even long irons felt awesome. I put a 6 iron to about 4 feet on the toughest hole of the course today and made the putt for birdie. I birdie that particular hole a couple times a year. Pretty good for March 2nd.

2. The ball is extremely durable. After 18 holes the ball almost looks brand new. There are no scuffs or shreds at all on the surface. I didn't get to hit very many full wedges which can scuff a ball, so I still need to play a round or two more with one.

3. I didn't hit my driver particularly well today and the temp was only in the 40's and 50's. So I can't come to a conclusion on the distance factor until I play a round with better conditions and a better swing.

4. This ball seems to dislike being lost. On the 2nd hole I knocked the darn thing in the trees twice but found it. This is a great feature for a ball to have. If Maxfli can patent that one they'll all be rich.

Review: La Costa Resort & Spa

lacosta9
Originally uploaded by mediaguru.

With the recent conclusion of the Accenture Matchplay Championship at La Costa, I figured now was as good a time as any for my La Costa course review.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REVIEW

Click the pic above for slide show.

Clearing up some Taylormade rumors

I have a new inside buddy at Taylormade who is very cool. Checking in with him to see if there's any new news there he just wanted to let me know a few things:

1. The r7XR driver selling in Japan is not coming to the US

2. Adidas has some cool new shoes called "Tour Metal" coming out that Ogilvy wore when he won this weekend

3. There has been a rumor about new drivers coming out but that rumor is FALSE. So don't wait for a new Taylormade driver to come out. They have reduced the prices so buy an r7 or r5 NOW!

He also let me know that I should have some of the yet to be released Maxfli BlackMax balls to test and review shortly. These will have a combination of distance and spin, like combining a ProV1 and ProV1x into one.

Titleist revamps ball lineup for 2005

Titleist has not come out with a "new" ball yet. But they have "tweaked" the ball speed and spin rate of the ProV1. According to their charts they've increased the length of the ball a few yards and reduced the spin on certain iron shots.

More EQUIPMENT NEWS: Click here

Titleist's web site www.titleist.com

In case you cared....

27-year-old Australian Geoff Ogilvy sank an 18-foot, downhill putt for birdie on the second playoff hole Sunday to beat Kevin Na and win the Chrysler Classic of Tucson for his first PGA Tour title.

Toms wins Accenture Match Play...and is good

Ok, I finally went 100% for my picks in a round for the Match play. David Toms defeated Chris DiMarco 6 and 5 to win 1.3 million bucks and a neat trophy. Did I mention that Toms is good?

I'm not a news reporter so that is as far as it goes. But I will comment that Phil, Tiger, Vijay and the rest had better look out. Toms was just starting to come into his own when he injured his wrist a couple of years ago. Now he's back and should prove to be a big factor in any tournament he plays in.

Though he lost, I though DiMarco showed serious guts, especially coming back in the semifinal against Goosen in the fashion that he did.

I would love to see more matchplay on the PGA tour, but you know the corporate sponsors don't. They didn't get their big "hollywood" showdown between Tiger and Vijay or Ernie etc...