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GolfWRX Morning 9: Perception shifts re: Woods, Reed, more in ’18 | Web Q-School update | Jim Nantz writes

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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

December 7, 2018

Good Friday morning, golf fans.
1. Seismic shifts
Golf Channel’s Will Gray looks at some of the massive changes in public perception of some of golf’s biggest names.
  • “Golf is often billed as one of the purest meritocracies in sports. Play well, shoot low, and you’ll move up the rankings and into the biggest events. There is no head coach to woo for extra playing time, no front office to appease. No long-term playing contracts, either.”
  • “Tiger Woods went from a walking injury report to the eye-popping superstar that he’s been for much of his career. His match-play foil, Phil Mickelson, added fashionista and dance instructor to his ever-growing list of credentials.”
  • “Patrick Reed graduated from fiery villain to major champion, a transformation that can’t be undone with 100 post-Ryder Cup sound bites. Brooks Koepka went from Dustin Johnson’s workout buddy to the history books in the span of a summer, all while proving that perhaps Johnson should be viewed as his plus-1 rather than the other way around.”

Many more in the full piece.

2. Meanwhile, in South Africa…
At the time of this writing, Charles Schwartzel is 8 under for his second round and leads the field by a stroke at the South African Open. First-round leader, Louis Oosthuizen, has been unable recapture the magic of his opening-round 62 thus far; he’s 1 over through 11. Ernie Els, after looking promising yesterday, has fallen eight strokes off the pace.
3. Q-School update
Andy Johnson at the Fried Egg has the update from Web Q-School.
  • “Bryan Bigley and Braden Thornberry are tied for the lead after one round of Web.com Tour Q-School in Arizona. The duo each shot rounds of 62 on Thursday in pursuit of earning that coveted top spot in Q-School. They are being chased by dozens of others though, with twenty-four players shooting 66 or better during the first round.”
  • “Just behind the leaders is a trio at 63; Andy Zhang, Michael Gligic, and friend of the program Vince India. Zhang famously qualified for the 2012 U.S. Open as a 14-year-old and recently played collegiately at Florida. Gligic is a Canadian who has played on the Mackenzie Tour for the last decade while also dipping his toe in the Web.com waters in 2017. India graduated from Iowa and has mainly played on the Web.com for the last few seasons. He did qualify for two PGA Tour events last season and notched his first career made cut in the Dominican Republic.”
Andy published the Q-School update in his thrice-weekly newsletter, which you can sign up for here.
4. LPGA 2019 schedule highlights
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell on the LPGA’s year ahead.
  • “More, more, more….That’s the theme behind the 2019 LPGA schedule released Thursday, but tour commissioner Mike Whan sees something else in the growth….”There’s less unpredictability,” Whan said. “I think that’s the cool thing. The schedule isn’t a big surprise. Most of our events are back again. We’re just growing our purses.'”
  • “The 33 official events on next year’s schedule are one more than this year and will feature a tour-record $70.55 million in total prize money, surpassing the 2018 record haul by $5.2 million…It adds up to more stability…Notably, there will be more diverse formats, with three new formats on the schedule…”We’ve grown to the point where we are able to do more of these fun formats,” Whan said.”
  • “The year will begin with one such event – the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions (Jan. 17-20), featuring LPGA winners from the last two years playing alongside celebrities and entertainers in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.”
5. World Long Drive schedule released
Also on the subject of scheduling, Kevin Casey at Golfweek writes…”The World Long Drive Association announced its 2019 schedule on Thursday with a significant addition.”
  • “The 2019 World Long Drive schedule will now include an inaugural event called Celebrating Service: Fort Jackson. The tournament will have a division represented by military service members competing alongside World Long Drive athletes.”
  • “The inaugural event will be among six World Long Drive tournaments to air on Golf Channel in 2019.”
6. PGA Tour Live is now NBC Sports Gold
Golfweek Staff report...”For those subscribers to PGA Tour Live, the service will have a new home for U.S. fans in 2019.”
  • “It was announced in July that the PGA Tour and NBC Sports Group had made a partnership and that NBC Sports Gold – NBC Sports Digital’s direct-to-consumer live streaming product – would be the U.S. home for PGA Tour Live in 2019.”
  • “The new PGA Tour Live will provide exclusive live coverage of featured groups from 28 PGA Tour events beginning at the Desert Classic and running through the Tour Championship.”
  • “Active PGA Tour Live subscribers will soon receive an email from NBC Sports Gold with instructions to complete account set up.”
7. From the desk of Jim Nantz
Nantz penned another installment of his column for Golf Digest, and well, here’s how he begins.
  • Sept. 23 was the first full day of autumn. Summer had officially passed, and my mood was matching the melancholy of Mother Nature’s final cycle of the seasons. It was the third NFL Sunday of the year, and my family had joined me in Minnesota for the weekend. While covering the Vikings-Bills game, I opened our broadcast as usual with, “Hello, friends.” Tony Romo and I covered Buffalo’s surprising victory and rejoiced during commercial breaks as we watched Justin Rose take the FedEx Cup at East Lake and Tiger complete his remarkable comeback with a parade down the 18th fairway. But this day was different.”
  • “It marked what would have been my beloved father’s 90th birthday. He’s been gone 10 years now, after a 13-year unwinnable battle with Alzheimer’s. They say time heals all wounds, but sometimes you wonder. It wasn’t supposed to end this way for Dad. He was an athletic, strapping, fit, bright and brilliant man who easily could still be with us. We had plans to experience the road together. There would be football weekends, basketball boondoggles and countless golf trips. Always golf.”
8. Davis Riley to turn pro
Now at Golf Channel (from Golfweek) Brentley Romine writes…”Alabama senior Davis Riley has decided to forego his final semester of eligibility and turn professional.”
  • “The news was confirmed to Golf Channel by Crimson Tide coach Jay Seawell on Thursday. Riley informed his coaches and teammates of his decision during the Thanksgiving break. While the news came as a surprise, Seawell knew Riley, a gifted athlete and ballstriker, was ready to make the jump.”
  • “Riley, a 21-year-old senior from Hattiesburg, Miss., was a decorated junior golfer when he arrived at Alabama, having twice finished runner-up at the U.S. Junior Amateur and represented his country at the 2014 Junior Ryder Cup. During his time at Alabama, Riley was twice an All-American and helped the Tide to a national runner-up finish last season. He amassed one win and nine top-5s in his career, and finished with a 71.3 scoring average.”
9. Golf Academy of America closes
Golfweek’s Jason Lusk…”Golf Academy of America, which operated five locations around the United States, is ceasing operations after 44 years in the business of training hopeful golf professionals.”
  • “The privately held Education Corporation of America, which owned the five golf schools, announced Wednesday that it would shutter all of its roughly 80 campuses in the wake of declining enrollment and losing its accreditation. Employees have been notified that their positions will be eliminated, and most of the company’s approximate 20,000 students will not be able to able to finish their programs unless they were in their final semester.”
  • “Golf Academy of America said on its website that it has trained more than 11,000 students, with graduates employed in the golf industry in all 50 states and around the world. Its five campuses are in Myrtle Beach, S.C., San Diego, Dallas, Orlando and Phoenix.”

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Hawkeye77

    Dec 9, 2018 at 3:13 pm

    Good example of more of what this site needs for articles.

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Most birdies without breaking par – GolfWRXers discuss

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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.”

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Best current stock shaft 2026 – GolfWRXers discuss

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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.”

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

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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.

 

  • GolfWRX may earn a commission for purchases made through links on this page, at no extra cost to you.

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