News

Morning 9: Match Play Day 1 | Tiger on how big drivers have changed pro golf | More ANWA details

Published

7 years ago

Mar 28, 2019

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

March 28, 2019

Good Thursday morning, golf fans.

1. Match Play Day 1

Golf Digest’s Christopher Powers filed a day one recap from Austin CC.

Among his headings…Rory McIlroy dominates…”Fresh off a victory in the Players Championship, McIlroy picked up right where he left off on Wednesday, taking an early 1-up lead over Luke List with a birdie at the second hole. List hung in there, reaching the eighth tee still only 1 down, but back-to-back bogeys saw him make the turn 2 down to McIlroy, and Rory slammed the door from there. The Northern Irishman, who won this event in 2015 and has been a Ryder Cup stalwart over the years, won four of the next five holes, closing out List with birdies at 13 and 14 to win 5 and 4.”

“Upsets…When it comes to match play involving the best players in the world, it’s hard to call anything an “upset” or “shocking.” There are no UMBC over Virginia type moments in this event, but there are definitely some slightly surprising victories, and the biggest from Wednesday has to be Lucas Bjerregaard taking down Justin Thomas, 3 and 2. And Thomas never really had a chance to win…”

Full piece

Full match capsules.

2. Tiger’s neck feeling good

Golf Channel’s Nick Menta writes that while Tiger’s neck feels “freed up,” he developed a new problem in his opening match.

…”Woods’ 3-and-1 win over Aaron Wise wasn’t all that pretty, but at least it wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, Woods thinks he might have hit the ball too well.”

“Joey says it’s a nice problem to have, but I was hitting my irons flush and hitting through the wind,” he said. “But I said, ‘This is not the time to be encouraging me like this right now. I just hit it over the back of three greens in a row.’ So I probably have to dial that down a little bit and figure that out.”

Woods made a number of references to his being pleased that the scores won’t matter after his opening match, when he technically yielded 1.2 shots to the rest of the field. But he nonetheless said he was encouraged by his driving and putting on Wednesday.

“My neck has been freed up a little bit, and I’m able to get into a better posture and that helps,” he said. “And because of that, I’m able to log in a little bit of practice time, which is nice.”

Full piece.

3. The T that felt like a W

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”After starting his day with a bogey at the first hole to slip 1 down against Billy Horschel, Spieth found himself in a 3-down hole after six holes. But he clawed back to tie the match through 13 holes. He then played Nos. 14 and 15 in 3 over par before rebounding with back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to earn a half point.”

“It was big,” Spieth admitted. “He was winning the holes. He was making a lot of really long putts through the early part of that front nine. And luckily I had holes to go after that. And we did a good job of not letting that bother me. If he’s going to shoot 7 or 8 under, I’m going to try to shoot 6 [under] and make progress in that form.”

Full piece.

4. De-skilling the game?

An interesting quote grab and take from Geoff Shackelford.

“Just my read from his comments yesterday, which were similar to remarks made at The Players. But it sounds like he’s inching closer to thinking a de-skilling has occurred at the top level with 460 cc drivers.”

“Q. How would you describe the level of competition now in 2019?…TIGER WOODS: Well, I think that equipment has made it smaller. The margin is much smaller than it used to be. Now look at these heads, 460 cc’s, you hit the ball anywhere on the face and have it go 300 yards. Before it put a premium on good ball-strikers to hit the ball in the middle of the face each and every time. And there was a distinction between the guys who could do that and the guys who couldn’t. And that’s no longer the case.”

“It promotes people swinging harder. Teeing the ball higher, swinging harder and hitting the ball further. And the old shot of hitting just a squeezier, low, heelie cut in play, that’s no longer the case. Guys are trying to maximize distance off the tee, to try and carry that number 300, 320, 330 in the air. And it’s become a game that’s played more up in the air than it ever used to be.”

Full piece.

5. Kuchar, Tucan tete-a-tete

Our Gianni Magliocco...”The Matt Kuchar-David Ortiz caddie pay dispute dating back to last year’s Mayakoba Classic came to an end last month, and according to a report from Golf.com, the two have since had a face-to-face meeting where both men apologized.”

“Per Michael Bamberger’s report for Golf.com, the two men met each other in the clubhouse at the WGC-Mexico Championship and apologised to each other. Speaking on the 40-minute meeting where the two men buried the hatchet, Ortiz told Bamberger in a phone interview alongside an interpreter that”

“Matt said, ‘Hey, David, how are you?’ I apologized for the (difficulty) the situation created. I told him it was never my intention to embarrass him, but I felt eventually I had to tell the truth. Matt also offered an apology. He said it was all a misunderstanding. He asked me how my family was. He showed me a picture of his family and a video of a hole-in-one made by one of his sons.”

Full piece.

6. ANWA details

Golf Digest’s Ryan Herrington with some new details on next week’s Augusta National Women’s Am…

…”World Golf Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez along with ANWA participants Sierra Brooks and Maria Fassi helped unveil the bowl that will be handed to the winner on April 6 during an appearance on the “Today Show” on Wednesday morning. It was part of a New York City media tour to help promote the new tournament.”

“The bowl was designed in collaboration with Tiffany & Co., and made from spun sterling silver and a 24K yellow gold vermeil. Among the design accents are the event’s logo and the namesake flowers for each hole at Augusta National.”

Full piece.

7. Perspectives on new PGA Tour gambling possibilities

Ron Green, Jr. of Global Golf post filed an in-depth look at where we could soon be with legalized wagering on PGA Tour events.

Quoting, Andy Levinson, senior vice president of tournament administration for the PGA Tour…

“Levinson said layers of oversight will be employed when the tour is fully invested in legal sports betting.”

“This is an industry that for as long as the PGA Tour has been around has been generating profits on the back of the PGA Tour and its product and its brand without a lot of oversight, without really any relationship with the organization. As this activity becomes more widespread, it does put more risk on the PGA Tour, more on the players,” Levinson said.

“But it’s also something we’ve done prudently and we have taken the steps over the last few years to make sure we had all of our ducks in a row before we really started to jump in and engage in this type of activity. We feel like we’re taking the right steps to mitigate a lot of this.”

“When the pieces fully come together, what will betting on PGA Tour golf look like?”

“It can be as simple as trying to pick the winner of each week’s tournament or as complex as wagering on each shot a player hits. It can be as simple or as complex as a bettor chooses to make it.”

Full piece.

8. Golf etiquette in crisis?

A cane-wagging full-fledged golf etiquette rant (with plenty of valid points), from National Club Golfer’s Steve Carroll.

A morsel…”Like some Brexiteer pining for the return of the Empire, I think I must have some rose-tinted specs on when viewing etiquette through the prism of history.”

“I often find myself sitting on the balcony yelling that I want to take my golf club back before getting into an almighty huff when faced with a litany of pitchmarks on a green.”

“I know you’re allowed to repair damage on the putting surface these days but I had one at the weekend that looked like a meteor had hit. Several species lay extinct around the crater.”

Full piece.

9. Meanwhile, in India…

European Tour report…

“Stephen Gallacher and Julian Suri fired opening rounds of 67 to take a share of the first round lead at the Hero Indian Open.”

“Gallacher has often flourished on tough courses throughout his career, and showed he had the measure of DLF Golf and Country Club last season as he recorded a top ten finish in New Delhi.”

“Fast forward 12 months and a sensational putt from off the green at the last handed him a closing eagle and a one shot advantage at five under.”

Full piece.

News

Most birdies without breaking par – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

8 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

8 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

2 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.