News

Morning 9: Stanford redeemed? | Mike Davis on player complaints | Haney in hot water

Published

7 years ago

May 30, 2019

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

May 30, 2019

Good Thursday morning, golf fans.

1. Stanford redeemed?

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine on the Cardinal’s (never the Cardinals’!) impressive NCAA Championship win. (Although, to use No Laying Up’s analogy the stellar “regular season” play of Oklahoma State cannot be forgotten)

“With three matches in a 27-hour period on a 7,550-yard golf course, the final match of the NCAA Championship was always going to be a test of endurance.”

“No team was more prepared to handle the rigorous finish than Stanford.”

“All season, the 10th-ranked Cardinal trained their games, minds and bodies to peak at the right time. They won each of their final four tournaments and grabbed momentum by the horns entering this week’s demanding test at Blessings Golf Club, where Wednesday they were the last team standing after a 3-2 victory over Texas in the final.”

“We pushed these guys harder than any team I’ve ever coached,” said Stanford head coach Conrad Ray, “and they responded.”

“Stanford’s victory marked the program’s ninth NCAA title and first since 2007. In recent years, though, the Cardinal had developed a reputation for being soft when it mattered most. After advancing to the NCAA semifinals in 2014, Stanford failed to make it past the 54-hole cut in four straight championships.”

Full piece.

2. Bortis’ story

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard on a compelling element of the Stanford victory saga…

“An assistant coach in his first year with a new school wins the national title at the course he used to play on against the team, and coach, he once played for.”

“About 1,500 miles east of Hollywood at Blessings Golf Club, that’s exactly what happened to Stanford assistant coach Matt Bortis when the Cardinal defeated Texas 3-2 to win the men’s NCAA Championship.”

“Honestly I couldn’t believe it,” said a shocked Bortis after the final match on Wednesday morning. “To be able to do this on my old home course and then to do it against the team I used to play for was incredibly special.”

Full piece.

3. Mike Davis’ take

Rex Hoggard with what the USGA’s ED had to say about a Golf Digest article he is surely thrilled went to press weeks ahead of the U.S. Open…

(Over/under 2 times for “dialogue”?)

“On Wednesday at the Memorial Tournament, USGA executive director Mike Davis addressed the criticism and what the association is doing to bridge a widening gap with some PGA Tour players.”

“We’re listening a lot and having a dialogue with them,” Davis said. “Some of it was about new rules. Some of it is concerns about the distance initiative, some of it is U.S. Open. It’s a combination of things. But we’re looking forward and we obviously want to work with the Tour. There are so many great players and we want to get it right.”

“Just getting more dialogue with the Tour was important,” Davis said. “It was evident with the new rules that a lot of the complaints happen because I don’t think they actually understood the rationale. Why would you drop from your knee? Why would you have the flagstick in? Why are we changing some rules on the putting green? If it’s down to more ‘why’ than it’s because you aren’t communicating enough.”

Full piece.

(Push)

4. …and Rory’s

Hoggard also reported on these remarks from Rory McIlroy…

“Following a string of high-profile miscues at recent U.S. Opens, many are anxiously awaiting next month’s championship at Pebble Beach, which is widely considered the event’s most storied venue.”

“I think we should give [the USGA] the chance to redeem themselves. If they can’t redeem themselves at Pebble Beach, then there could be a problem,” Rory McIlroy said on Wednesday at the Memorial.

Full piece.

5. Say what, Hank?

Golfweek’s Christine Brennan recounts Haney’s remarks on his radio show yesterday and offers her perspective in a scathing editorial. Forgive the length of the excerpt, but the transcript portion is a necessary inclusions.

“Golf instructor and commentator Hank Haney was having a great old time on his SiriusXM radio show Wednesday morning, ripping women’s golf, the game’s magnificent South Korean standouts and this week’s U.S. Women’s Open, the crown jewel of the women’s game.”

“His racist, sexist, xenophobic behavior was on display for anyone who listens to him on PGA Tour Radio.”

Co-host Steve Johnson: “This week is the 74th U.S. Women’s Open, Hank.”

Haney: “Oh it is? I’m gonna predict a Korean.”

Johnson, laughing: “OK, that’s a pretty safe bet.”

Haney: “I couldn’t name you six players on the LPGA Tour. Maybe I could. Well … I’d go with Lee. If I didn’t have to name a first name, I’d get a bunch of them right.”

Johnson: “We’ve got six Lees.”

“If Haney is not fired from that job (and Johnson with him) and every other role he plays in golf and the news media by dinnertime Wednesday, then the leadership of the game, the PGA Tour and SiriusXM is condoning racism, sexism and xenophobia while basically telling everyone who isn’t a white male that golf is not the sport for them.”

“If there’s any golf club in the country (let’s make it the world) that allows Haney to set foot on its property after that despicable exchange, that club is telling every girl and woman and person of color to go play any one of the dozens of other sports they can play for life, not golf.”

Full piece.

6. State of the Tiger

Golfweek/USA Today’s Steve Dimeglio on where things stand for TW as he gears up for the third major of the year…

“All in all, Woods said he’s in a much better place than where he was after missing the cut two weeks ago in the PGA Championship. He said he has put on nearly all the weight he lost two weeks ago when an undisclosed illness struck two days before the start of the second major of the season.”

“Woods took three days off, then practiced hard for two days in Florida. The following day, he played 18 holes at Pebble Beach, the site of his historical 2000 romp in the U.S. Open and next month’s U.S. Open.”

“…After Tiger Jam, Woods spent a good day practicing Monday before heading to the Memorial. He got in a late-evening practice session on Tuesday.”

“I feel a lot better,” Woods said. “I just need to play a little bit more now. And hopefully it will be four solid days this week heading into the U.S. Open.”

Full piece.

7. The DEFINITIVE ranking

At times, you imagine over at Digest they just dump a box of papers on Shane Ryan’s desk and say “make something great out of this.” In this case, it’s the results/game stories of every single tournament on the PGA Tour this season so far.

Here’s a taste of his singular rundown…

“5. Arnold Palmer Invitational (Francesco Molinari): Just the greatest winning final round of the year by a winner, culminating in this monster [Ryan includes a video of Molnari’s winning putt]”

“4. AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Phil Mickelson): Most years, this combination of venue and champion, both legendary, would be enough to make it the most compelling non-major of the season. Most years …”

“3. Sony Open (Matt Kuchar): Not only is Kuchar always an interesting champion, and not only was this the first full-tournament field of 2019, but the caddie-tipping controversy from his win at the Mayakoba came out that weekend thanks to a tweet from Tom Gillis, and it would dominate discussion in the golf world for the next month, until Kuchar issued his apology. He was asked about it for the first time at the Sony, and depending on how much you knew that Sunday, his win there was either the last win of his pre-TipGate career, or the first of his post-TipGate career. In any case, we were watching the perception of one of the game’s most popular figures change in real time, knowing it would never be the same, and it was fascinating.”

Full piece.

8. “Lowest lows” for DeChambeau

Golf Channel’s Will Gray on the tour’s resident Einstein’s recent equation of frustration.

“Everybody is susceptible to lows. Mine hopefully aren’t as low as some others. And this, to me, is my lowest of lows,” DeChambeau said. “I really don’t feel like I can play much worse.”

“DeChambeau hadn’t missed a cut prior to Harbour Town since last year’s PGA, a stretch of 16 starts that included four worldwide victories. He hadn’t missed more than two cuts in a row since the summer of 2017, when he missed seven in a row ending with the U.S. Open at Erin Hills.”

…”Personally for me I feel like this is as low as it’s going to go. I just have to keep running, I have to keep just scratching at the door, keep going with trying to understand why does this dispersion happen? Why do I have this range of possibility of shots?” DeChambeau said. “You have to go back through your checklist, things that you do understand and kind of branch off of that. When you go down a rabbit hole and it doesn’t work, you pull yourself out and find ways that work better.”

Full piece.

Worth noting: DeChambeau has (single-length, of course) Cobra King Forged MB irons (6-PW) in the bag this week. Our Ryan Barath on the rationale for the switch from his Cobra King One Length irons.

9. Pro debuts for ANWA heroes

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…

“They’re back. And this time, they’re playing together for at least two rounds of the 74th U.S. Women’s Open. Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi, rock stars of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur, make their highly-anticipated professional debuts on Thursday at 8:28 a.m. local time at the Country Club of Charleston.”

“…It’s not just that Fassi and Kupcho are playing for money now. Both LPGA rookies have a limited amount of time to earn enough money to keep their cards for 2019, and this week’s $5.5 million purse is the largest on tour. A strong week here can go a long way toward securing status.”

Full piece.

News

Most birdies without breaking par – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

16 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.