IN THE ANNUAL snow golf tournament at California’s Alpine Meadows ski resort at Lake Tahoe, competitors tee off from perilous mountain-top tee boxes using high visibility green tennis balls, then ski nine downhill “fairways” finishing up in flagged circles spray-painted on the greens (well, whites) to putt the ball into a hole in the snow. Each player completes a score card, and the winner is decided by having their card drawn out at the (very festive) post-round party.
Tiger Woods & Rory McIlroy present TGL, a high-tech golf league featuring 6 teams made of the top PGA TOUR players. Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas are the first confirmed stars, apart from Woods and McIlroy themselves, to commit to TGL, which will launch in 2024 in partnership with the PGA Tour. The new recruits have a combined 22 PGA Tour victories,
TGL was announced earlier this year ahead of the Tour Championship as part of sweeping changes to the PGA Tour in what was seen as a bid to combat the threat posed by LIV Golf. It represents a partnership between the tour and TMRW Sports, a company set up by Woods and McIlroy which has attracted investment from high-profile figures in the world of sport and entertainment.
The competition will consist of teams of three golfers going head-to-head in a league on Monday nights. It will be held in purpose-built indoor venues, with shots hit into a cinema-sized screen in front of a live audience. More big names are expected to join in the New Year. Watch this space!
The PNC Championship, formerly the father/Son Challenge, is being held December 16–19th at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, and features PGA TOUR Champions and a son/daughter. John Daly teamed with his son John II to win in 2021, 2 strokes ahead of Tiger Woods and his son Charlie. The Woods’ reeled off a tournament record 11 birdies in a row and shot 15-under 57 in the two-man scramble, but it wasn’t enough to catch the Dalys who shot 57 and a 36-hole total of 27-under 117. Tiger has been encouraging Woods Jnr. to “swing like Rory,” although as it’s helped him on the way to 15 majors I wouldn’t have thought there was much wrong with Dad’s swing.
Pete Cowen: ‘Tiger Wood’s last year as an amateur in some ways was the best. He had height on his backswing. He had a drop on his downswing that was to die for, a moment of deceleration with his upper body that allowed his arms to catch up. He then exploded into the ball in a way that was incredible. He will never have that again, if for nothing else than age. Age eventually makes everyone look ordinary.’
Cowen Tip: “When people stand too far away from the ball there is little control of the butt end of the club. If it travels too far back or forward when chipping and pitching, it causes the bottom of the arc to change which causes inconsistencies. The more you minimise the movement, the better your consistency will be.”
In 50 years of playing I have never yet made an ace. Nobody could accuse me of being inconsistent.
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy faced Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in ‘The Match,’ held at the Pelican Golf Club Belleair Florida, on 9th December in a best-ball format. The 12-hole competition,which benefited Hurricane Ian relief efforts, took place live under floodlights on Primetime TV and was won by Spieth and Thomas 3 & 2. All four could have just given a million each to the effort and stayed in with a takeaway.
Just to say that the generous golfers of Orihuela Costa raised over €8.000 for the RBL poppy appeal this year. Many thanks to everyone for a great effort!
A very Merry Christmas to all, and great golfing in 2023.
Contact Mick For regripping and repairs. Tel: 638 859 475 or visit https://mickthegrip.blogspot.com
