News

Morning 9: Pete Dye dead at 94 | Reed’s lawyer sends Chamblee cease & desist | Wie expecting

Published

6 years ago

Jan 10, 2020

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt

Email me at [email protected] and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and golfwrxEIC on Twitter.

January 10, 2020

Good Friday morning, golf fans.

**Drop me a line ([email protected]) if you’d like to talk about getting your message in front of the M9 readership.**

1. Pete Dye dead at 94

From Richard Goldstein’s New York Times obituary for the most well-known (and arguably most polarizing) figure in modern golf course architecture…

“Pete Dye, who designed many of America’s most famous golf courses and became known as the mad scientist of golf architecture for his imaginative and supremely challenging layouts, died on Thursday. He was 94.”

“His death was announced by the Dye family’s company, Dye Designs, on Twitter. He had been treated for dementia and lived in Gulf Stream, Fla.”

“Often collaborating with his wife, Alice, who died in February at 91, and in later years with their two sons, Perry and Paul Burke (known as P.B.) Dye, Mr. Dye designed more than 100 courses.”

“He and his wife were best known for the “island green,” the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., probably the most photographed hole in golf history. The green is only some 135 yards from the tee, but it brings dread to even the world’s greatest golfers competing in the Players Championship, an unofficial fifth major tournament. Surrounded by water and connected to the rest of the course by a slender land bridge, it has tormented even the world’s greatest golfers and is one of the most recognized images in the sport.”

Full piece.

2. Pros remember Pete

Tiger Woods called him “the father of modern golf course design,” saying Dye “brought fear into the equation” and “really messed with your mind.”

“He leaves a huge footprint on the game. One of my best experiences with Pete was playing Whistling Straits one of the first times we went there and I was lucky enough he walked nine holes with me in a practice round and I would ask him, “Mr. Dye why would you put that bunker right there… what were you thinking?” and he would look at me and said dryly, “just to piss you off, that’s the only reason.” He was a good man who obviously loved golf and just a wonderful course designer who knew how to make difficult golf courses. If you were going to play well around his places you couldn’t fake it and it’s a sad loss for golf. His footprint was at all of his places, undeniably and not a lot of designers can say that. And boy you knew it was going to be tough.” – Charles Howell III

“Pete and Alice Dye are royalty in golf, no question. My mother was friends with Alice and always enjoyed talking with Pete every chance I could get. I love TPC Sawgrass and my parents were members at The Honors Course which I think is one of his best of all time. He revolutionized golf, changed it, and made it better. We are all lucky to have had him. If you look at the history of golf I’m not sure there is a bigger change in architecture than when Pete Dye came along. It was the most radical change and it was a great change. He is timeless. They’ll be copying him till the end of time.” – Jerry Kelly

Full piece.

3. Reed’s lawyer sends Brandel Chamblee cease & desist letter

Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch…”Patrick Reed doesn’t only have his caddie wading in to defend his badly battered reputation – he’s sending in his lawyer too. Golfweek has exclusively obtained a cease and desist letter Reed had his attorney send to Brandel Chamblee demanding the Golf Channel analyst not repeat accusations that the former Masters champion cheated at the Hero World Challenge last month.”

“Chamblee has been a vocal critic of Reed’s hugely controversial actions at the Hero, where video showed him twice scooping sand from behind his ball on practice swings in a bunker, thereby improving his lie. Reed was penalized two strokes by rules officials but denied deliberately cheating, a brush-off that did little to alter the widespread belief that he did just that.”

“The purpose of this letter is to obtain assurance that you will refrain from any further dissemination, publication or republication of false and defamatory statements concerning Mr. Reed, including any allegations that he ‘cheated’ at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas,” wrote Peter Ginsberg, a partner at the New York City law firm of Sullivan & Worcester.”

Full piece.

4. Sony: Morikawa in front as play suspended

AP report…”The wind blew so hard that palm trees looked as though they were made of rubber. The Pacific looked angrier than usual. Some of the sights Thursday at the Sony Open in Hawaii made it clear that playing golf in Hawaii was no vacation.”

“Collin Morikawa managed better than everyone. He learned enough about the wind last week on Maui to cope with it on Oahua, getting through the relentless 30 mph win without a bogey for a 5-under 65 and a two-shot lead.”

“It’s tough out here,” Morikawa said. “If you have a 20-foot birdie putt, you’ve got to factor in the wind, the rain, everything. So playing last week got me prepared for today in the wind, and I look forward to the next few days.”

“Ryan Palmer was among four players at 67, with Marc Leishman and Corey Conners among those at 68.”

Full piece.

5. Hall in front in South Africa

EuropeanTour.com report…”The Englishman made his professional and European Tour debut at last season’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and did not disappoint, outscoring playing partner and four time Major Championship winner Rory McIlroy in the final round as he finished in the top 20.”

“He moved to nine under on day two at Randpark Golf Club to share the clubhouse lead with local favourite Daniel Greene, who fired a 66.”

“That was one shot behind overnight leader Johannes Veerman, who picked up a shot in his first six holes to move to ten under.”

Full piece.

6. Wie pregnant

ESPN report…”Michelle Wie announced on Instagram on Thursday that she is going to be a mother.”

“Wie posted on the social media site that she and husband Jonnie West — the son of NBA legend Jerry West — are expecting a daughter.”
“Babygirl, we love you so much already and we just can’t wait to meet you this summer!” Wie wrote.

Full piece.

7. Captain Hurst

AP report…”Pat Hurst was selected captain of the U.S. team for the 2021 Solheim Cup on Thursday.”

“Hurst, 50, was an assistant to Juli Inkster for the matches against Europe in 2015, 2017 and 2019, and played in the competition five times during a 20-year career on the LPGA Tour.”

“Hurst said Inkster was the first person she called after LPGA Tour commissioner Mike Whan told her she was captain.”

Full piece.

8. Officially in

First official start since the Zozo Championship in October…

Golf Digest’s Daniel Rapaport...”Tiger Woods announced on Thursday that he will play his first event of 2020 at the Farmers Insurance Open, which begins Jan. 23 at Torrey Pines in San Diego. He also confirmed on Twitter that he will tee it up at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, an event run by his TGR Live venture.”

“See you soon west coast,” Woods said in the tweet.

Full piece.

9. “8-year-old key”

“Last week was one of those instances, though as Howell explained Wednesday during his pre-tournament news conference at the Sony Open, he had a good excuse.

“My son now is big into golf and he loves it, so like he has his favorites and the guys that he really likes,” Howell said of his 8-year-old son, Chase. “Justin Thomas is his clear favorite. Not even close. Like watching last week (when Thomas won the Sentry Tournament of Champions), like me seeing golf through his eyes watching Justin in the playoff and rooting him on and all that kind of stuff, it’s kind of reinvigorated my golf career a little bit.”

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.