News

Morning 9: Turkeys and fall season facts | Sergio waives Saudi Arabia appearance fee | Anthony Kim anecdote

Published

7 years ago

Nov 26, 2019

Ben Alberstadt

By Ben Alberstadt

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

November 26, 2019

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. There will be no Morning 9 Wednesday through Sunday. I’ll make up for it with a Morning 36 on Monday, if we can get ’em in before darkness falls. But really, the M9 will be back Monday. Happiest of Thanksgivings in advance. I’m truly grateful for all of you who open this roundup every day!

**Just a reminder we’re looking for advertisers for 2020. Drop me a line if you’d like to talk about getting your message in front of the M9 readership.**

1. Fall season facts

Golf Digest’s Daniel Rapaport (who is availing himself nicely in the new role) compiled some takeaways from the fall swing. He begins with a point both readily apparent and easy to forget…

Tiger’s knee surgery was extremely important…“Tiger Woods is famously tight-lipped about injuries, so it’s not shocking that he kept his knee problems under wraps until after he had surgery to fix it in August. What is shocking is the immediate effect the procedure-a “scope” to repair minor cartilage damage-had on his on-course performance.”

“Woods’ last three starts of the 2018-’19 season resulted in a missed cut, a withdrawal and a T-37 in a 70-man field. Then he had the procedure, practiced for about a month, flew to Japan and won a record-tying 82nd PGA Tour title. It’s not just that Tiger won the Zozo Championship, it’s how he did it-Woods was in complete control of virtually every aspect of his game during the wire-to-wire victory. He swung within himself and looked comfortable shaping the driver both ways. His irons were characteristically impressive. His distance control with the wedges was flawless. And he holed the eight- to 12-footers that win tournaments.”

“After the victory, Woods shed some light on why the surgery was so crucial-the knee was keeping him from pushing into the ground on his downswing, which forced him to slide and try to save his swing with his hands. At the Zozo, he looked much more like the Tiger who won the Masters than the one who pulled out of the Northern Trust after an opening-round 75.”

Full piece.

2. Turkey awards

Superb stuff from the Golf.com crew as they round up their turkeys of the year.

A couple of entries…

“THE BENJAMIN BUTTON AWARD FOR AGING BACKWARDS…Winner: Sergio Garcia”

“After blasting from a bunker, Tour pros aren’t expected to rake the sand. But they’re also not expected to trash it altogether, as Garcia did when he regressed into a tantrum-throwing toddler at the Saudi International, stirring up a sand storm with his sand wedge. Oh, and it was also in that same tournament that he damaged several greens with his club, which led to a “serious misconduct” and, eventually, a disqualification.”

“THE ANTI-SHIVAS IRONS AWARD FOR VIOLATING THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME…Winner: Trey Bilardello”

“Shooting a single round 131-over 202 at a U.S. Amateur qualifier is nothing to be proud of. But the real embarrassment for Bilardello is that he started out trying but then, after botching a couple of early holes, was deemed to have intentionally run up his score.”

Full piece.

3. Rory and Rickie helped

(Find me a more imposing author photo than) Martin Dempster at The Scotsman wrote this about European Tour ROY Bob MacIntyre…

“In a break from tradition, European Tour officials asked MacIntyre if he was happy to be in the same group as two of the biggest names in golf in the Aberdeen Standard Investments-sponsored event at The Renaissance Club in July.”

“The tour were brilliant as they actually asked us if he wanted that draw, which was a wee break from the normal protocol,” said Iain Stoddart, MacIntyre’s manager at Edinburgh-based Bounce Sport.

“I actually wrote to (European Tour CEO) Keith Pelley afterwards and said that it had been a great thing to ask first because, whether it is a young home player in the Scottish Open or the Irish Open, it can be quite enormous to be in a group like that.

Full piece.

4. Sergio to drop appearance fee

James Corrigan at The Telegraph…”Sergio García will return to play in next year’s Saudi International, the controversial event from which he was disqualified in February after purposefully damaging several of the greens. But as the Spaniard tries to make reparations for his outrageous meltdown, he will agree to participate without an appearance fee this time around.”

“It is understood this was one of the conditions placed on the 2017 Masters champion by the European Tour as it spared him a suspension. García received in the region of £500,000 for this year’s tournament and was not asked to return any of it, despite smashing his putter into one of the greens in anger and then continuing this fit of pique for the next hour or so, as he raked up as many as four other greens.”

Full piece.

5. To fill your quota of Anthony Kim anecdotes…

Joel Beall at Golf Digest writes…”In a promo for Golf Channel’s “Swing Expedition,” Adam Schriber, Kim’s former swing coach, relayed a tale when he and Kim visited a pizza joint in Palm Desert, Calif., in 2008.”

“According to Schriber, the two were served by a pregnant waitress. Kim congratulated the woman, and remarked that her husband “must be so excited,” Schriber recalled.”

“A comment that struck a nerve with the waitress, as she broke down in tears. She told Kim that her boyfriend has left her, and admitted she was scared to have the baby on her own.”
“…Months later, Kim and Schriber returned to the restaurant, where they saw the aforementioned waitress. Schriber said that the woman greeted Kim with a hug, breaking out a photo of her baby. When Schriber asked what was going on, Kim replied he had left a gift for her at that initial meeting.”

Full piece.

6. Hero Shot

Adam Woodard at Golfweek on a new component (and wise, given the fact that it is essentially an exhibition, after all) of the Hero World Challenge…”The tournament itself, which benefits Tiger Woods’ TGR Foundation, will be played Wednesday-Saturday on Dec. 4-7, but the week-long event will begin two days prior with the Hero Shot at Baha Mar on Monday, Dec. 2 at 4 p.m.”

“Woods, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson and Gary Woodland will all compete, hitting balls at a bullseye 100 yards over the Reflections pool at Baha Mar. The first of three rounds will feature three head-to-head matches with players hitting six balls toward the target, which consists of three rings each of different values: 100 points for the outer ring, 200 points for the inner ring and 500 points for the bullseye. The sixth ball in each round will be worth double points. The player with the highest score moves on.”
“In the second round, the three players who advanced will hit an additional six shots, with the lowest score being eliminated and the top scores advancing to the final round. You can watch the Hero Shot on social media via GolfTV, PGA Tour and TGR Live.”

Full piece.

7. Who has the most top 100 courses?

Kevin Cunningham for Golf.com...”Course architects A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross, Alistair Mackenzie, and Old Tom Morris each have multiple courses on the list.”

“Those are household names, giants in the history of golf course design. But none qualifies as the course architect with the most courses in the Top 100, an honor that goes to a man who is no less great but is far less heralded for his monumental contributions to golf architecture: Harry S. Colt.”
“Top 100 Courses in the World: GOLF’s 2020-21 ranking of the best golf courses on the planet H.S. Colt, as he’s often referred to, is a Golden Age architect with a whopping 11 course design credits appearing on the Top 100. That’s three more than any other architect on the list. Mackenzie and Old Tom Morris come in second with eight apiece, while Tillinghast is fourth with seven designs.”

Full piece.

8. The craziest parlay in golf history?

If genuine, this is a heckuva ticket! Alex Myers at Golf Digest on the 8,500-1 hit…”Thanks to UK-based golf writer Ben Coley, an incredible betting slip has taken Golf Twitter by storm. As you can imagine, the odds (about 8,500-to-1) and the payout (£126,875.88 or about $163,000) are significant, but the four legs of the parlay are what have everyone talking. The parlay won thanks to Jon Rahm’s victory at the DP World Tour Championship that also gave the Spaniard the European Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai title. But it actually began at the beginning of the year.”

Full piece.

9. WITB Time Machine

I’d like to call your attention to new series we’re doing at WRX: WITB Time Machine. The premise is simple, but we hope the rewards of digging in will be a complex and satisfying as something from Phil Mickelson’s wine cellar.

First up, we’re featuring Tiger Woods’ WITB from August of 2015-a time when Tiger was truly a full-bag Nike staffer.

Check it out.

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

17 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.