Golf Etail Blog

This is absolutely hilarious. Anthony Kim has my vote for shot of the year!

Bullseye!

I gotta tell ya – being a member of the DealTeam is exhausting work. We’re everywhere!

It’s not enough that we’re always dolling out great deals on top-of-the-line golf equipment and apparel on GolfEtail.com, now we’re on Twitter too. We worked overtime yesterday sending out tons of exclusive coupon codes to our loyal followers. Well, I’m beat, and now I have to ask – when will the insanity stop? I hardly have time to try out my new set of Adams Idea Tech OS Iron Set. And that’s a travesty, my friends. A real travesty!

It makes me wonder … What will the Bigwigs have us doing next – posing for pictures at AT&T National?

Although, when I think about it, maybe that’s not a bad thing. At least you’d get to see more of my handsome mug!

OK … so I was at The Open on Friday. I arrived at the course around 10:30AM and left about 5PM. A few thoughts and observations:

First, the weather. It was overcast when we got there and appeared it would be another rainy day, but around Noon the sun came out and stayed that way for the duration. So there were no weather issues on Friday.

The course is wet and muddy! In the spectator areas the trails are very muddy. At times we were ankle deep in slop. When you cross the fairways (eg, 15 or 16) those brown areas where the spectators walk is just mud … they are not roads! There were many spectators wearing hiking boots & those knee high rubber ‘fireman-like boots’ — I must say they were appropriately dressed. While we were waiting to cross I was talking to a marshall and asked him what it was like in between the ropes and he said it was really wet. While there I heard some (unsubstantiated) horror stories where many of the parking lots at course had flooded and cars were having to be towed.

With that out of the way let me give you some observations about the play and course. We sat on the hill behind the green for quite some time on Friday. Some of the better shots I saw including Phil making a great, long putt for birdie, David Duval making a nice shot onto the green and good birdie, Goosen hitting a fabulous shot to within 5 feet (but missing his birdie), and Rory putting his ball into the primary rough to the right of the green (just missing the fescue) but followed up with a unbelievable flop shot to save par. It was one of the few places on the course to sit and watch (other than the grandstands).

We also watched several 3-somes come through on #2. I really like this hole … in fact the combination of #2 & #3 really appealed to me. While there Rory put one in the trees on the left and ball came to rest about 5 feet from me. He showed his inexperience by trying to hit through the trees to the green and putting only advancing it about 30 yards and still stayed in the rough. He should have taken his medicine and punched straight out. Phil also put one in the left rough, but made a great recovery with his 2nd shot and snatched a birdie.

I really liked the course and would love to play it; although the course is not a good spectator venue. The majority of the greens are above the spectators so it is difficult to see. I can’t imagine the USGA coming back to Bethpage anytime soon for it does not handle water well and does not layout well for spectators. Conversely, I had the good fortune to go to the 2004 Open at Shinnecock and thought that was a fabulous venue!

So I could ramble on, but won’t. However, if you get a chance to go to a US Open, go! I have been to two and look forward to my third, but first I want to get to Augusta.

All I can say is “WOW! … what a great finish”. It should be clear to all Tiger is back … and back in a big way. In case you missed The Memorial, coming into the final holes on Sunday there was a 4-way tie on top of leaderboard, until Tiger went Birdie-Birdie on 17 & 18. Then suddenly, there was no doubt who was going to win! We all know how good he is with those NIKE Victory Red Blade Irons and how deadly he is with those putts to nail the coffin shut. But It is amazing how low he can go when he gets off the tee, and in fact Tiger hit 14 of 14 fairways on Sunday and only missed 5 fairways all week!

Tiger needs to keep that NIKE Dymo Driver in the bag for The Open come June 18th when he will be tackling that monster at BethPage Black. At the Memorial, Tiger was 2nd in driving accuracy and 12th in driving distance, and given BethPage Black will be playing a lengthy 7,426 and will impose severe penalties for not hitting the fairways, he will need both accuracy and distance.

FYI… NewsDay.com and several other medial outlets are reporting Tiger played a practice round today (Monday, June 8th) at BethPage Black, teeing off around 9:30AM and finished up around 1PM.

I will have the pleasure of being at The Open on Friday and will report in.

Jack congratulating Tiger ....

Good news for Phil Mickelson fans: The two-time Masters winner (2004 & 2006) will return to golf this month as he vies for his fourth title (he won the PGA Championship in 2005) at the U.S. Open at Bethpage from June 18 to 21.

Just a couple weeks ago, Mickelson announced that he was taking a hiatus from the Tour to be by his wife’s side as she battles breast cancer. But after encouraging news from doctors regarding her condition, “Lefty” is back in business.

In anticipation of the Open, Mickelson will “warm up” at the St. Jude’s Classic, which kicks off Monday, June 8, in Memphis.

The DealTeam is elated to hear the good news, and we’re sending positive thoughts to Mickelson and his family.

The DealTeam has its finger on the pulse of golf fashion. I mean, just look at us. We’re pretty sharp, eh? But there’s one trend in particular that we’re watching very closely – the white belt!

It’s everywhere these days. Especially the PGA Tour. Have you noticed? We have!

It’s so ubiquitous, in fact, that Golfweek magazine dedicated an entire video segment to the trend. The verdict? Some golfers are gung-ho, while others are hesitant to jump on the white-belt bandwagon.

Check it out – then let us know what you think about the fad. Does it have staying power – or will it join fingerless gloves and velour pullovers in the golf fashion hall of shame?

Daydreamt about teeing up at Augusta National?

The DealTeam does too. But until we receive our exclusive invitations in the mail, we’ll settle for Redstone Golf Club – located just 15 minutes from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas – which was prepped in 2006 to mimic Augusta.

Seems like just yesterday. Time sure does fly for this ol’ codger!

Since then, the Shell Houston Open has attracted the top players in the world, and in the weeks following the tournament, many wannabe golf stars (like us!).

I could rave about this diamond in the not-so-rough all day long, but I’ll let you decide for yourself with this review of the course on WorldGolf.com.

Besides, it’s time for my afternoon siesta.

Oh, I almost forgot (that’s happening all too often lately!) – how’re you faring in Fantasy Golf? Let us know!

Bogey Niblick, on our Golf Etail deal team, was planning on writing a post this week, but I just HAD to recap Phil Mickelson’s dramatic performance at the PGA CA Championship at Doral last week.

The PGA CA Championship came down to a spirited duel between Lefty and the youthful Nick Watney on the 18th hole. But there was drama before the Mickelson-Watney duel. As we know, all eyes were on Tiger Woods with his first return to match play golf. Though we like to think of Tiger as an invicible golf-cyborg, he finished in 9th place at Doral. For a man who sat out for 8 months, sweating through knee surgery and physical rehabilitation, 9th place is quite respectable. None-the-less, all eyes should have been on the ever-lasting Phil Mickelson.

On the evening prior to the final round at Doral, Phil Mickelson was taken to the hospital suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Despite grappling with painful symptoms the night before, Mickelson survived seven lead changes througout 11 holes with the energetic Nick Watney to eventually champion him scoring a 3-under 69 and a one-shot victory. It was almost like witnessing the PGA version of the steady tortoise vs. the rambunctious hare. Talk about PGA Tour drama at the “Blue Monster!”

The World Ranking of Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson has now jumped up to 2nd place  in the world ranking; just inches from Tiger Woods. Depending on how Tiger Woods plays at Bay Hil, Phil Mickelson may have a golden opportunity to become 1st in the world ranking when he plays again.

In the early days of spring, the PGA Tour has not disappointed! We’ll be watching with baited breath to see what the PGA Tour Soap Drama brings our way next week!

If anyone thinks Phil Mickelson can overtake Tiger Woods, we would love to read your thoughts in the comments section.

The PGA Tour has regained its sparkling star, but will his brilliance dull during his first stroke play since over 8 months ago?

Tiger Woods returned to the PGA Tour toward the end of February to compete at the Accenture Match Play. Though he lost in the second round to South Africa’s Tim Clark, it was the first time Woods had competed after an eight-month hiatus following ACL surgery in his left knee. In a recent news conference, Tiger was confident about his knee, stating that, “from a physical standpoint, it was better than I thought it would be.”

Tiger is now confronting his next challenge of the PGA Tour at the WGC-CA Championship at Doral Resort and Spa today. So What Are His Chances this week at the Doral’s “Blue Monster?”

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