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I think the Buick Invitational needs to change it’s name to Tiger tune-up challenge.  He easily blew away the field by 8 shots over Imada from Japan.  No sunday drama here just one opened can of whoopass.  I have to admit I am a fan and love when he destroys the field.  Here’s hoping for the Grand Slam…go Tiger!

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson renew their rivalry today at the Buick Open.  Teeing it up for the first time in 2008 both expect big years.  Tiger has even made the comment that the Grand Slam is within reach this year….I don’t know about that but I never count him out of it either.

Award for the worst golf website ever is……..Golf Digest!  I understand the need to put information on your main page but come onnnnnnnn.  That site is utterly rediculous, it makes my eyes sore just seeing it once.  Maybe they should talk to my good friends at Site-Spring.com, they know what they are doing. 

Nike took a credibility hit on the golf equipment scene recently.  In the latest comparison tests by golfs biggest magazines, Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, not one Nike ball made best of the best.  Nike Platimum was the closest scoring as a distant second tier in both comparisons.  This is a big blow to Nike who is doing its best to unseat the current golf ball leader Titleist.  Thankfully they recieved better reviews on the Sumo and Sumo2 driver which ranks highly in both magazines.  Maybe they are catering to Tiger a little two much in terms of what he likes in a golf ball.  The masses are what drives golf equipment sales so build us a ball that works and doesn’t need a gimicky sales pitch to win us over (aka Nike Ignite).  Ahhhh but that is the best thing Nike does, marketing!

Trahan locked up his second career victory shooting 7 under in the final round.  He trailed Justin Leonard by 4 strokes and ended up winning by 3.  Leonard finished second which follows a strong start for him this year after placed 8th at the Mercedes Championship.  Trahan plans to buy property following his big win and said it would be for hunting.

2008 will introduce a new form of golf club customization.  TaylorMade, Callaway, Nike, Ping, Nickent and Titleist all announced upcoming clubs in which you will be able to change out shafts as easily as changing the weight configuration on the TaylorMade Quad drivers.  The advantage supposedly is that you will be able to use certain types of shafts depending on the conditions you are playing in or you will be able do demo shafts easily to find the one that is right for you.  The USGA worked closely with these companies to have rules in place which will allow changing shafts during tournaments as long as it is not during a round.  Will this in fact help the average golfer?  In my opinion no due to the tremendous change in technology in clubs already and the average golfer still shooting the same scores as they did back in the 70’s.  That said I still think it will be fun to try.

Choi went wire to wire with a victory in Hawaii this past weekend.  Showing 2007 was no fluke he took down Rory Sabatinni and company by shooting 13 under par.  Many are predicting him as a favorite to win the Masters this year in April.  Nike made a good move in picking him up in sponsorship and if he continues to play well this year will start making the big bucks along side of Tiger.

Anyone tired of Rev. Al Sharpton?  In the ever increasing politically correct America you can say just about zero about anyone, even in jest.  Kelly made a comment about Tiger that meant absolutely nothing and Rev. Al decided to take it out of context.  Very typical of someone trying to get press as they say.  She ended up paying for it (two weeks in the penalty box) and hopefully that will serve as a good enough punishment.  Glad I am not in TV!

We are just 3 months away from league season on the suncoast.  Stay tuned for info on leagues at courses in your area.  If you are a league manager please send me your info so I can post for everyone to see, thanks.

Callaway has been working for 8 years on making off center hits with your driver as long as those perfectly hit.  They believe they have found a way to do so with the new Hyper X driver.  The difference with this new driver is the back side of the club face has a milled in X design which allows the outer edges of the face to have the same springlike effect.  The result is more consistent trajectories across the entire face of the club.  Pricing comes in at $300 and the only drawback looks to be not having a large selection of high lofted clubs for slower swingers.