News

Morning 9: Spieth latest non-fan of drop rule | Scott skipping WGCs?

Published

7 years ago

Jan 10, 2019

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

January 10, 2019

Good Thursday morning, golf fans.

1. Further incredulity toward the drop rule

You have to feel for the USGA. They thought there were doing a good thing with the knee-height drop — speeding up play, making the process easier — but it’s starting to look like another helping of out-of-touch silliness.

Yesterday, it was Jordan Spieth (echoing Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau) sounding off on the new rule.

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”One that I don’t really understand necessarily is the drop,” Spieth said on Wednesday. “”You drop it knee height, but like, what’s the advantage of dropping it shoulder height? It’s actually probably a disadvantage, so why can’t you still do that? You should be able to drop it from shoulder to knee height in my opinion. It doesn’t do any good and honestly it’s like, a frustrating asterisk that I have to re-pick it up and re-drop from your knee.”

“According to the USGA, this alteration was made to increase the chance of a ball staying within the relief area.”

“Requiring the player to drop a ball (as opposed to placing it) retains a desired randomness about where the ball ends up,” reads the explainer in the Rules of Golf. “The player has no guarantee that the ball will come to rest on a desired spot or in a good lie. This is especially the case when a ball is dropped in more difficult conditions such as thick rough or longer grass.”

Full piece.

2. An interesting move

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”At 38-years-old Adam Scott is at the point in his career that he’s comfortable making tough choices.”

“His focus now is winning majors and qualifying for this year’s International Presidents Cup team, as evidenced by the fact that this week’s Sony Open is his first start since the WGC-HSBC Champions in October.”

“It turns out that might be the last World Golf Championship the Australian plays this season….With players forced to make tough decisions this season because of a new condensed schedule on the PGA Tour, Scott conceded on Wednesday he took the path of least resistance when it came to his schedule.”

“I just kind of took the simple approach and thought I’ll just play the ones I like and that make sense to play out of the way,” he said. “Any inconvenience, whether it’s a big tournament or not, but at the moment I have not scheduled a World Golf Championship because they don’t fall in the right weeks for me.”

Full piece.

3. “A powerful message”

Golf Channel’s Randall Mell…”Aon is adding to the momentum LPGA commissioner Mike Whan is starting to build in his quest to narrow the gender pay gap that so severely separates women from men in sport.”

“Aon is promoting inclusion while investing in what Whan hopes will become a movement in the game.”

“The company could have instituted its new season-long risk-reward competition for the PGA Tour alone, could have established the $1 million winner’s prize for men only. The men, after all, sell more tickets, draw more TV viewers and get more media coverage.”

“Aon stepped up, though, and offered the exact same deal for LPGA pros….”It’s just a powerful message,” Whan told GolfChannel.com. “We’re starting to see a series of pillar moments, where we are starting to create the kind of equality you see happening every day within companies that are sponsors.”

“Aon’s Risk Reward Challenge comes on the heels of CME Group’s announcement it will offer a $1.5 million first-place check to the winner of its LPGA event next year, a payout greater than the winner’s check in 33 of the PGA Tour’s 47 events. It comes with the LPGA’s sanctioning of the Vic Open next month, a co-sanctioned European Tour event that will offer equal prize money to men and women playing the same venue at the same time.”

Full piece.

4. FYI: Xander didn’t top that shot

If you were watching Sunday’s final-round coverage of the Tournament of Champions, you saw a curious, seemingly topped drive from Xander Schauffele.

X says he didn’t top it though. Here’s his explanation, per Digest’s Mike Johnson.

“OK, have to ask about that squirrely tee shot on Sunday on the 13th hole. Is that something that you just laugh off or is it more like, “Whoa? Where did that come from?”

“You know, I read a few things about how I topped that shot and I didn’t. That shot I hit was a bumped driver. You can tell from my swing speed that I was hitting it about 40 percent. I had been doing it all week, I just hadn’t been on TV when doing it and I knew I was going to take some crap about the ball speed because I just kind of chipped it out there. It’s a shot I hit when it’s super windy. I didn’t have a 3-iron in the bag so it was either a 4-iron or a 5-wood and I didn’t want to hit a 3- or 5-wood up in the wind and the 4-iron wouldn’t get out there far enough, so I decided to try and chip my driver. On No. 4 at Kapalua I was hitting the same shot and driving it low and watching it run. It’s a new addition to my arsenal.”

Full piece.

5. The story of the “W”

Great stuff from PGATour.com’s Helen Ross on the now-iconic “W” palm trees at this week’s tournament venue, spearheaded by Waialea member Ethan Abbott.

“A little more than a decade ago, Abbott began lobbying to alter the landscape. Club manager Allan Lum was on board. So was course superintendent Dave Nakama.”

“So Abbott made a video that included scenes from the iconic movie – particularly the spot where the money was unearthed – and made presentations to the club’s greens committee, the executive committee and the board of directors.”

“Quite a few people were supportive, but there were some, especially the old-timers, who felt this is not appropriate for their golf course,” Abbott recalled. “Now 99.9 percent of them have come around and said what a great, great thing it is and how much they enjoy it.

“But there are one or two, they’ll still kind of look sideways at me, but that’s the way it goes.”

As it turned out, the entire project only cost about $3,500 – and the money came from a gift already earmarked for a project on the course. And with several hundred coconut trees lining the fairways at Waialae, no one had to look far to find four that could be added to the ‘W’ project.

Full piece.

6. Monday qualifying…with a triple bogey

Crazy stuff from Jared Sawada in his bid to Monday qualify for the Sony, writes Golf Digest’s Christopher Powers.

“Through 16 holes the 27-year-old was eight under, with a field-leading nine birdies and just one bogey. As long as disaster didn’t strike, he would easily get another crack at the Sony Open.”

“Unfortunately for Sawada, disaster did strike, as he made a triple-bogey seven at the par-4 17th hole, dropping him to five under on the day. Another bogey would have ended his chances, but he salvaged par at the 18th hole to get in the clubhouse at five under, one off the lead of Talor Gooch and Brent Grant. Sawada’s 67 wound up being good enough for a 3-for-2 playoff with Andy Pope, a Web.com Tour veteran who has made just five career starts on the PGA Tour, and Corey Conners, who just finished his rookie season on tour. Conners notably took the lead into the final round at the Valspar Championship, but carded a final-round 77 to finish in a tie for 16th.”

“Conners and Sawada earned the final two spots, meaning Sawada pulled off an incredibly rare feat in still qualifying with a triple bogey. According to @acaseofthegolf1, a Twitter account dedicated to following Monday qualifiers throughout the PGA Tour season, no one has done what Sawada did in the last four years:”

Full piece.

7. AP Experience!

At Bay Hill this year…

Golf Channel Report…”Tournament organizers announced Wednesday that an interactive exhibit known as the Arnold Palmer Experience will be on display all week long when the PGA Tour heads to Bay Hill from March 4-10. The domed, 360-degree theater, built adjacent to the 10th hole, will be free for all fans to visit and will share highlights from the life and career of Palmer, who won seven majors and passed away in 2016 at age 87.”

“The exhibit will also include areas where fans can compare their swing side-by-side with Palmer’s iconic move as well as a chance to test their shot-making on some of the toughest holes of Palmer’s course design career.”

“After the tournament concludes, plans are in place to leave the theater open to Bay Hill guests for several weeks before traveling to Palmer’s birthplace of Latrobe, Pa., in advance of what would have been his 90th birthday in September.”

Full piece.

8. Suitors for Golf Digest?

…in which the mainstay publication is playing the part of the Bachelor.

Geoff Shackelford writes…”In an item unusually light on details by Keith Kelly standards and feeling more like a reminder to interested suitors that Golf Digest is still for sale, the New York Post media writer says new PGA Tour International TV distributor Discovery is interested.

The billionaire Newhouse family has a minority stake in publicly traded Discovery, but the family connection is not necessarily giving the programmer any advantage. It will come down to price and Discovery’s long-term strategy on golf.”

“Discovery actually has some live-streaming golf in Europe connected to the PGA tour but does not have any golfing channels in the US and currently has no print within its empire.”

Shackelford’s remarks.

NY Post piece.

9. A little golf history you may not have known…

Courtesy of Forward Golf Grips (@forwardgolf) on Twitter.

Always thought GW was a 2-iron guy….

News

Most birdies without breaking par – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

12 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

12 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.