Power Rankings: Charles Schwab Challenge

PGA TOUR player Zac Blair is a golf course architecture aficionado with plans on building his own golf course, The Buck Club, in his native Utah. Blair is offering his architecture expertise to PGATOUR.COM to give fans an expert’s insight on some of the unique holes on the PGA TOUR. You can follow Zac on twitter at @z_blair and follow The Buck Club at @thebuckclub. Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor have blessed the golf world with several amazing golf courses, including National Golf Links of America, Chicago Golf Club, Fishers Island and the Golf Course at Yale. This week’s The Greenbrier Classic, contested on the Old White TPC, will give many fans and players their first glimpse at the work of these amazing Golden Age architects. Macdonald and Raynor are known for their use of template holes, which were heavily influenced by some of the greatest holes on the British Isles. They often repeated these template holes from courses to course, and we will see one this week at the Old White TPC’s 234-yard, par-3 eighth hole, named Redan. The Redan hole is one of the more famous holes in golf. Even if you’ve never heard the term “Redanâ€� before, you’ve most likely played a hole inspired by the original Redan, the 190-yard, par-3 15th hole at Scotland’s North Berwick Golf Club. It is widely considered one of the best par-3s in the world, and has been replicated many times over. Macdonald, who also won the first U.S. Amateur, described a Redan this way in the book Scotland’s Gift: “Take a narrow tableland, tilt it a little from right to left, dig a deep bunker on the front side, approach it diagonally and you have a Redan.â€� The way the green is pitched/tilted from front-right to back-left, any shot that flies over the front-left bunker typically will bounce over the back of the green. Long isn’t a terrible miss, but if played properly you can surely get the ball on the putting surface. With a deep front-left bunker guarding this green, the proper play is aim at the front right corner of the green in hopes of using the raised kicker to funnel balls to the back portion of the putting surface. In my opinion, the strategy that goes into playing this type of hole is what makes the Redan so cool. The eighth hole at the Old White TPC is one of the best versions of the Redan that I have ever played because it is the proper distance for today’s technology and because the green has the correct amount of contour to feed balls right to left. You may stand on the tee and see a back-left hole location and think firing directly at the hole may be the correct play. This strategy couldn’t be any further from the truth. Missing short-left and anywhere right of the green will surely lead to over-par scores, so avoid these misses at all costs. If you execute your tee shot properly you should no doubt have a good look at birdie on this classic Redan.

Click here to read the full article…

Keith Mitchell claimed his first PGA Tour victory Sunday after sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole of The Honda Classic. Mitchell closed with a 3-under 67 to finish at 9-under 271, a stroke ahead of Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler.

Click here to read the full article…

Those keeping a close watch on equipment coverage often take notice of gear made specifically “just for the” PGA TOUR or “tour issue.” It’s every gearhead’s dream to find a way to procure a tour-prototype or something directly off a truck. Every now and then, the equipment manufacturers will make those “tour-issue” projects available in limited quantities. This week, Titleist Master Craftsman Bob Vokey released the tour-favorite T-Grind wedge — featuring a low-bounce and a narrow crescent surface — via WedgeWorks, the company’s custom-order arm. “Wedge play is an art, and the T-Grind brings out the best in the artist,” Vokey explained. “The leading edge stays low to the playing surface as the wedge is rotated which allows you to hit a variety of shots from tight lies. This is the wedge that really made Vokey Grinds an important part of our process and still to this day is a great option.” Designed for players looking for a shallow angle of attack in firm conditions, the Vokey T-Grind lob wedges both feature in the bags of PGA TOUR stars Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. Vokey Wedge representative Aaron Dill provides the lowdown on the new T-Grind: GolfWRX: What was the origin of the T-Grind? AARON DILL: “The T-grind started with the collaborative efforts of both Bob Vokey and Tom Pernice. Tom has an incredible short game and ability to articulate feedback that Bob trusts when designing and studying soles. Together they created the T; today one of the best low bounce offerings we have.” GolfWRX: Who is it for? DILL: “The T is a great low bounce option that caters to players wanting the ability to slide under the ball in the open position. The wedge fits firm conditions and firm bunkers, or players with impeccable technique who want the most versatility.” GolfWRX: What do Jordan and JT like about it? DILL: “Both Jordan and JT love this grind because it sits so close to the ground when open. This visual inspires confidence and gives them the freedom to be aggressive in every short game situation. “A great example of that was when Jordan was using a 60-04L — this wedge was in the bag for a while and the biggest adjustments we made to the wedge was in the profile reducing the par height to look slightly smaller and increase topline curvature. This profile was precisely the look Jordan needed to see to feel comfortable and it was my focus with every wedge I made. “One day at Trinity Forest, Jordan was working with coach Cameron McCormick and saw an old rusty wedge resting against the wall. When Jordan picked it up, he realized it was an old 60T that he has used ages ago. The moment this wedge was put in the playing position that old feeling came back. Jordan called me and said, ‘I have this old 60T in my hands. I just love this thing. Do you still make this wedge?’” The T-Grind features the same technology found in Vokey’s SM8 wedges, which includes a reimagined progressive CG pushed forward from the face for increased MOI designed to provide improved distance, trajectory control and better feel. The wedges also include 100%-inspected spin milled grooves that aim to produce maximum spin and shot control. The WedgeWorks T-Grind (RH only) is available for custom order in golf shops and on Vokey.com in both 58-degree and 60-degree lofts in Tour Chrome and Raw finishes. Each wedge costs $199, which includes custom stamping, custom ferrule, and custom shaft band options.

Click here to read the full article…