News

GolfWRX Morning 9: Daly continues USGA roast | New data: We’re not very good at buying the right clubs I Woodsian putter switch?

Published

8 years ago

Jun 27, 2018

Good morning, GolfWRX members. As most of you are signed up for our newsletters, you likely already know that I’ve been sending this little Morning 9 roundup of nine items of note.

In case you’ve missed it, or you prefer to read on site rather than in your email, we’re including it here. Check out today’s Morning 9 below.

If you’re not signed up for our newsletters, you can subscribe here.

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.

1. Stop the golf equipment presses! A new wand for Woods…maybe

The golf equipment world was in a tizzy yesterday when Tiger Woods showed up to the practice green at TPC Potomacwith a TaylorMade TP Black Copper Ardmore 3. He put the club in the bag during his Tuesday practice round, leading many to speculate he could, perhaps, make the switch from his vaunted Excalibur.

Woods told reporters he began practicing with the putter recently.

“I’ve been down in the Bahamas the last week, so I’m really gonna give it a good test today and tomorrow because it’s not Bermuda (greens). I’ve been playing Bermuda the entire week. So this is very different and I just want to see how it rolls out here. Put it through its paces.”

Could this really happen? Could he shelve his legendary Scotty Cameron Newport 2?

“I’m trying something out. The way I’ve been putting, I wanted to look for a change. That’s all it is. It rolls good. You never know.”

You never know, indeed. I put the odds at 3/1 that he actually puts the Ardmore in play. Do you take that bet?

2. The fitters speak!

Between manufacturers and consumers is/can be/should be an important entity: club fitters. They know equipment better than you. Often, they know what will suit your golf swing better than you (with appropriate testing and data). So, it’s interesting (vital, even) to hear what they have to say.

Fortunately, GolfWRX conducted a survey of top fitters to get the answers to some important questions.

Here are a few.

56% of players need more loft on their driver
50% of golfers play a shaft that is too stiff
65% of golfers need to play irons that are more forgiving
67% of golfers have their adjustable drivers set up incorrectly

PSA: This is why you need to get fit!

Full survey here.

3. Daly doubles down

Not content to merely lambaste the USGA for its decision regarding his desire to use a golf cart at the U.S. Senior Open, John Daly is hitting Mike Davis and company where it hurts: in the Shinnecock…Hills.

“The USGA just seems to defend themselves after the fact,” Daly said, adding that “the greens seem to get away from them like Saturday at Shinnecock Hills. It just seems like something happens every year they host an event that looks bad on them. They just never seem to learn from their mistakes.”

More from JD.

4. That ridiculous story about Ernie Els beating the crap out of Steve Marino? It’s true.

Oh boy. This is a good one. The long-time rumor was further substantiated earlier this month when a friend of a friend to Marino, retired hockey player Mike Commodore, appearedon Barstool Sports’ Spittin Chiclets podcast and said this.

“They get on the plane. It’s just the two of them. They’re crushing beers. They take off. Have some food. This and that. They’re having a blast. Marino’s like, ‘This is the greatest time of my life! I’m flying private. I’m crushing beers!’

“They’re standing kind of in the aisle or whatever and Ernie Els comes up to him and says something like, ‘Are you having a good time?’…and Els is like, ‘Now we fight!’ and straight-up headbutts him..hard…Ernie starts throwing him around all over the place, and the co-pilot comes back screaming.”

Els essentially confirmed the story was true on the No Laying Up podcast earlier this week.

Full story.

5. Feherty

It must be difficult to have to make people laugh when you yourself want to cry. Add to this David Feherty’s demons, and the difficulty of the period of time since his son’s passing has to be unthinkably difficult for Feherty.

Bill Speros profiles the commentator/host/comedian…”Feherty has battled drug and alcohol addition for many years but found that he could not say “no” to his own son’s request for money, even though he believed in his head that money would likely fuel his son’s drug habit.”

“On Shey’s 29th birthday-July 29, 2017- Feherty got a call from his son, Rory, saying that Shey died earlier in the day. His death was ruled by a coroner to be the result of a mixture of alcohol and cocaine.”

‘”The truth is, I’d broken down on several occasions and given him money again. He was so sweet, and I couldn’t say no to him. Plus, like all of us addicts, he was a very good liar. He convinced me the money wasn’t for drugs. I’m sure I knew deep down he was lying, but I wanted to believe he was really on the way to coming out on the other side,” he told Golf Digest.”

Read it.

6. Woods working toward a more level educational playing field

USA Today’s Steve Dimeglio does a heck of job profiling some of the good work being done by the Tiger Woods Foundation. Beyond platitudes and big money donations, the Foundation takes a sensible, result-orientated approach that’s continually refined…which Woods himself is very much a part of.

Dimeglio writes…”Opened in 2006, the Learning Lab is the backbone of Woods’ goal to provide kids a safe place to learn, explore and grow. The Lab offers students from low-income households and underfunded schools a variety of classes in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).”

“Hitting a golf shot isn’t going to make anything better,” said Woods, the headliner in this week’s Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in Bethesda, Maryland. “What we’re going to do, beyond our lifetimes, is lead education into the future. And that to me is far more important than anything I have ever won.

Read it.

7. To play, or not to play?

Scheduling, for the high-level professional golfer, is a ballet of moving parts, competing interests, compromises, and ultimately, sacrifices.

Graham Parker examines the conundrums in an excellent piece for the New York Times.

“For players and managers there’s a calculus at play when deciding which tournaments to play each summer – one that is informed not just by the travel logistics of juggling between European and PGA Tour events, but by a player’s performance, tour standings and (in Ryder Cup years) the chance to get a preview of tournament venues.”

“It can make for difficult decisions. Francesco Molinari, who is fourth in the European Ryder Cup rankings and is 15th in the world rankings, has spoken in the past of how he “loves” Le Golf National, which is just outside of Paris. The Italian is a three-time runner-up at the Open de France, and had he competed this week would have been arriving on a rare streak of playing well.”

If you have a subscription (or have free articles for the month remaining), check it out.

8. Kaymer: I don’t need to prove myself

The German will likely be reliant on a captain’s pick from Thomas Bjorn if he’s to make the European Ryder Cup squad. He has a pair of top-10 finishes recently, giving some cause for optimism.

“I don’t think I need to prove myself that I’m good enough for the team,” Kaymer said. “I’ve done it in the past that I’m good enough but right now my results don’t really show what I’m capable of, and I have only two months’ time.”

“So I will put everything into the next couple months that I have. I’m going to play a lot. I play all the Rolex Series Events just to gain points. I would hate to miss out. But in the end of the day, you need to be realistic.

9. Dottie & the bear

During the the third round of the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., 10 years ago, Dottie Pepper–commentating for NBC–came closer to a black bear than she’d ever like to.

Golf Digest’s John Strege writes...”I look up, and thank God we were in commercial break,” she said. “Here he comes full tilt, and he’s coming right at me. ‘It’s the bear! It’s the bear!’ He has making a dead beat for me.”

“She dropped her yardage book and tentatively began to run. “Then I remembered, you’re not supposed to run,” she said….The bear eventually passed by and then through the fans on the left-hand side of the fairway-“they split like the Red Sea,” she said-and eventually made its way through the West Course and back into the wilderness.” (USGA’s photo below)

News

Most birdies without breaking par – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

15 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user is wondering how many birdies other players have had in a round while still failing to break par. @Lalan45, unfortunately, asked the question after a unique experience of their own.

They wrote:

“Today I managed 8 birdies but still shot even par, could have been a round to remember! What’s the most birdies you’ve made in a round and still didn’t break par?”

Our members in the forum shared their own experiences with successful rounds that still resulted in a score over par. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

kwcsports: “I’ve had 5 a few times, still shot 80+ haha.”
jda: “I played a course for the first time, had 8 birdies, 9 doubles and an eagle. The infamous no-par round. I kept the scorecard. Every shot had a creek that I did not know about, or I was within 8-10 feet for a birdie look. To this day, I have no idea if I should be really jacked up or mad about that performance.”
jvincent: “I think my record is either 5 or 6. Probably shot 75.”
Instron4204: “3 birdies and shot a 92…man I suck!”

Entire Thread: “Most Birdies Without Breaking Par.”

News

Best current stock shaft 2026 – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

16 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user is asking for thoughts on the best stock shafts offered in 2026. Stock shafts are the shafts included with a club when it’s purchased from retailers or OEMs.

@DTorres asked:

The last couple years has seen a lot of updates and additions to no upcharge stock shafts, which do you think is the best offering in 2026?

Im a bit of a shaft nerd and recently during my Members Testing with the Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond I found the updated Project X Denali Frost Black to be a fantastic stock shaft. I absolutely did not mesh well with the original Denali. Just curious what other people think are the current best Stock shaft offerings out with new models and stock Ventus options and LinQ options popping up here and there.

We were given the option for any stock shafts for our members review. I went with the 70g Black Frost 6.5 because it’s a shaft I don’t have, it’s an updated version of the original Denali and hear little about. I typically use a Diamana WB, GD VF or a HOF Raptor. I’m not saying it was neck and neck with any of those but it was a pleasant surprise I’m not accustomed to in stock shaft offerings.

Our members in the forum have been offering up their own thoughts on the best stock shafts available in 2026. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

rsballer10: “IMO – MCA Ka’ili White Darkwave, Tensei 1k Black/white, UST Lin-Q White. People are free to spend their money however they see fit, but for me personally the shaft catalogs these days have enough options that I don’t see the value of a $400 upcharge. I have never had a problem finding a no upcharge shaft that fits the bend profile and weight that I need. Whether the paint job is good enough or not is above my pay scale.”
bcflyguy1: “Project X Titan Black. I’ve had one in 60TX in my Quantum TD Max for several weeks now. Have to give Titlieist their flowers for finding a way to make it available as a featured option; very shrewd bit of business and one that I suspect will be duplicated by the other companies. TT/PX have a certified banger on their hands with Titan.”
CTG77: “Undoubtedly, it’s the Tensei 1K RIP shafts from Titleist. The Tensei line gives about 98% of the performance of a Ventus VeloCore+ shaft at a tiny fraction of the cost if you’re looking for a blue or red profile. The white is not an exact match for Ventus Black, but it’s closer to it than the non-VeloCore+ Ventus shafts that come from Callaway or formerly came from TaylorMade.”

Entire Thread: “Best current stock shaft 2026.”

News

GolfWRX’s Father’s Day Gift Guide (2026)

Published

3 days ago

Jun 9, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

A reminder from your friends at GolfWRX: Father’s Day is June 21. And as we do every year, we’re rounding up the best gifts for dad.

As we say every year, there’s no better golf-related Father’s Day gift than a round of golf with pops. Be it a country club or your favorite muni, take the time to get together to play 18 if you can.

Let’s get to the gifts.

Ghost Golf Qualifier Diamond Polo

We like the new polos that Ghost is offering, as the fabric and fit are so good. These new Qualifier Collection polos breathe well, are lightweight, stretch with your swing, and of course look great. You can wear them on the course, in the office, or just out at a casual event and they will fit right in.

Buy here.

STR8-Strip Grip Tape Remover

If your dad is an equipment aficionado and tinkers with his clubs, this tool works wonders. Removing grip tape has never been easier, just put a little head on the tape and the STR8-Strip peals it right off the shaft without any damage.

Buy here.

Why Golf: Putting Thing

When it comes to practice, it is good to have a purpose. This “Putting Thing” sure does it. We know from personal experience how challenging it can be and how rewarding it is on the practice green. This also provides some competition for your kiddo to see who will unload the dishwasher or do the next chore around the house.

Buy here.

OluKai Lae‘ahi Men’s Breathable Slip-On Shoes

Riding to and from the course in style and comfort is always a good thing. If you’re in a hurry, it’s a nice feature to slide into your shoes and get to the tee time. For the post-game shoe, at your locker or while putting your clubs away in the car. Nice to slide into a shoe that looks good anywhere. Pair that with meeting the family for dinner, no need to change!

Buy here.

Therabody Theragun Relief

A little wellness goes a long way. Keeping loose is a good way to go when it comes to the weekend game or treatment during the week. If there is a little ache or pain, the Theragun is there to help out. Help loosen up the back for a pre-game warm-up or cool-down.

Buy here.

World Cup golf apparel

Something for the soccer dads. Embrace the World Cup fever this summer on the course with custom gear to support the nation of your choice.

Buy here.

FootJoy Pro SL spikeless golf shoes

Give the old man a break and save his feet with the Footjoy Pro SL Men’s Spikeless Golf Shoes for some added comfort on the course.

Buy here.

Bushnell Wingman 2 GPS speaker

Combine all the hits as well as some game improvement with the Wingman 2 Golf GPS Speaker by getting audible distance readings from 38,000+ courses worldwide through the Wingman 2 remote or speaker.

Buy here.

Personalized Titleist Pro V1 golf balls

The No. 1 ball in golf is a safe bet, and the Pro V1 fits the largest chunk of the bell curve if you don’t know what ball pops plays. Add personalization for a, well, personal touch!

Buy here.