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PGA Tour partners with Amazon Web Services to improve how fans view future, past tournaments https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

In a move to bring fans closer to golf, the PGA Tour announced a new partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday, which makes AWS the official cloud provider for the Tour.

“This transformational partnership with AWS will give our fans the opportunity to experience the PGA Tour like never before,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan via a release. “Growing and diversifying our fan base is a top priority for us, and thanks to the collaboration and innovation from AWS, we are creating more ways to experience the game of golf, while personalizing our content to enable fans to engage with the tournaments and players they support.”

So, what does this new partnership mean for fans?

AWS will power Every Shot Live, an app that will provide viewers live access to every shot from every player in a tournament. Using the upcoming Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass as an example, fans will be able to see more than 32,000 shots and follow players in real time.

Fans will also be able to control their viewing experience with AWS’ TOURCast, a new, innovative leaderboard that will provide new camera angles, course navigation, speed rounds and on-demand stats.

AWS will also assist the First Tee in developing an online community for its teachers and youth leaders in order to grow the program.

The Tour will also move “nearly 100 years of media content to AWS – including video, audio, and images dating back to the 1928 Los Angeles Open” into a data lake, where live footage from future tournaments will also be streamed.

“The partnership and experience we create with the Tour will be unique,” said AWS CEO Andy Jassy. “Unlike other sports, there’s more than one ball in play on a golf course, which makes it harder for fans to follow how every player is performing. Our collaboration with the Tour will change the way that fans will be able to connect with the sport by giving them real-time access to virtually every moment on the course and letting them determine how they experience the game.”

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New golf equipment for 2021: Footwear

New golf equipment for 2021: Footwear https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

White shoes with a black saddle. White shoes with a brown saddle. All white. All black. It seemed golf shoes were trapped in an endless cycle of conformity for decades.

Thankfully, those days are over. While there are plenty of golfers who still love to play in classic-looking footwear, the trend is toward athletic-looking golf shoes with bold colors and sporty styles. From posh private clubs to municipal tracks, more and more golfers are wearing shoes that resemble something that might be seen at a 10K race.

That does not mean these shoes are short on golf-specific details. Manufacturers study how golfers put stress on their feet during the swing, looking at various traction elements and how cleats dig into the grass. They are always tinkering with new materials that provide pillow-like cushioning without increasing weight.

But regardless of the style of shoe you prefer, getting footwear that fits properly is key. Walking a course can easily involve strolling four or five miles up and down hills, and even if you ride in a cart, you will walk a lot during your round.

Shoes that are too tight are never comfortable, and footwear that is too big can rob you of traction and potentially lead to blisters. Your shoes should flex under the balls of your feet to ensure both comfort and traction when you walk, yet they need to be rigid enough to keep you locked to the turf so you can maintain your balance off the tee.

Here are several new options that are sure to be popular this spring.

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TaylorMade Spider EX putter

TaylorMade Spider EX putter https://ift.tt/3uUfnxR

Gear: TaylorMade Spider EX putter
Price: $349.99 with Super Stroke Pistol GTR 1.0 grip
Specs: Aluminum and carbon-fiber frame with steel and tungsten weights, and grooved face insert. Available in 33-inch, 34-inch and 35-inch versions.
Available: March 12

The first TaylorMade Spider putters were spotted in 2009, and they were big. Tarantula might have been a better name, but there was no denying the Spider was forgiving and extremely stable.

Golfers loved them or hated them, but in 2015, TaylorMade struck gold after Jason Day won the Players Championship using a customized, red Spider Tour Itsy Bitsy. That year Day used the compact mallet to average +1.13 in strokes gained putting for a season. It was the first time a golfer on the PGA Tour finished a season with an average above 1. Many other pros and recreational golfers followed Day’s lead and made compact mallets designed for arced putting strokes trendy.

Since then TaylorMade has refined the Spider putters, and for 2021 its newest offering is the Spider EX, which relies on the same winning recipe.

The Spider EX has steel weights in the heel and toe areas, along with tungsten weights in the back. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The new Spider EX is a variation of the Spider X putter that Rory McIlroy has often used. The frame’s perimeter is made from lightweight aluminum, with the center section made from carbon fiber. Using those materials saved a significant amount of weight and allowed designers to add 28-gram steel weights in the heel and toe areas and tungsten weights in the back heel and toe portions of the head. While custom fitters can change the tungsten weights to modify the club’s swing weight, the extra mass boosts the moment of inertia and makes the Spider EX much more stable.

The face of the Spider EX has an insert that features aluminum grooves. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

To encourage the ball to roll instead of skid as it comes off the face, TaylorMade gave the Spider EX a new Pure Roll² insert. The insert contains thermoplastic polyurethane surrounding eight aluminum grooves that point downward at a 45-degree angle. TaylorMade said the grooves grab the back of the ball at impact and pull it upward to get it rolling, while the TPU portion softens impact and enhances feel.

The white Spider EX contrasts with green, and the alignment lines and dots are designed to improve aim. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The Spider EX is available in three colorways, and each has a large, white alignment aid with three dots extending back from the topline. TaylorMade refers to the system as True Path and said it should make it easier for golfers to align the putter behind the ball and aim the face on the desired target line.

Finally, a new KBS putter shaft comes standard on the Spider EX with a softer tip section to improve feel.

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Golfweek's Best Courses You Can Play: Missouri

Golfweek's Best Courses You Can Play: Missouri https://ift.tt/2MI346q

Missouri presents one of the best opportunities in the United States to play one state’s top public-access golf courses within an easy 30-minute drive of each other.

It’s easy: Just head to Branson, not far north of the Arkansas state line. Big Cedar Lodge has the top two courses – Ozarks National and Buffalo Ridge – on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for 2020 in the state, and No. 3 is less than half an hour away at Branson Hills Golf Club.

Golfweek ranks courses by compiling the average ratings – on a points basis of 1 to 10 – of its more than 750 raters to create several industry-leading lists of courses. That includes the popular Best Courses You Can Play list for courses that allow non-member tee times. These generally are defined as courses accessible to resort guests or regular daily-fee players.

No. 1 in Missouri is Ozarks National, built by the design duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2019. The course takes advantage of the mountainous terrain with holes playing atop and along several ridges. With long views from atop the hills and no adjacent development, it’s one of the most scenic mountain courses anyone could hope to play. It also ranks No. 33 on Golfweek’s Best 2021 list of top resort courses in the U.S.

Buffalo Ridge at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri (Courtesy of Big Cedar Lodge)

Minutes away is No. 2 Buffalo Ridge, which Tom Fazio redesigned in 2015 and that plays tighter than Ozarks National through the mountainous terrain. It ranks No. 63 among top resort courses in the U.S.

Also at Big Cedar Lodge and just across the parking lot from Ozarks National is the new Tiger Woods-designed Payne’s Valley, which is sure to appear at some point on the Best Courses You Can Play list in Missouri but which hasn’t received the minimum number of ratings to be included in the Golfweek’s Best rankings. The island-green, bonus 19^th hole at Payne’s Valley, which sits beneath giant rock walls, has become a social media darling since the layout opened in 2020.

Swope Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri (Courtesy of Swope Memorial)

No. 3 in the state is Branson Hills, another mountain layout that was designed by Chuck Smith with consultation by former PGA Tour player Bobby Clampett. Swope Memorial in Kansas City is No. 4 in the state, and Old Kinderhook in Camdenton is No. 5.

Old Kinderhook in Missouri (Courtesy of Old Kinderhook)

Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in Missouri

1. *Big Cedar Lodge (Ozarks National)

Hollister (m)

2. Big Cedar Lodge (Buffalo Ridge)

Hollister (m)

3. Branson Hills

Branson (m)

4. Swope Memorial

Kansas City (c)

5. Old Kinderhook

Camdenton (m)

6. Creekmoor

Raymore (m)

7. Ledgestone

Branson (m)

8. Stone Canyon

Blue Springs (m)

9. Missouri Bluffs

St. Charles (m)

10. Shoal Creek

Kansas City (m)

Golfweek’s Best Private Courses in Missouri

1. St. Louis CC

St. Louis (No. 49 c)

2. Bellerive

Creve Couer (m)

3. Dalhousie Golf Club

Cape Girardeau (m)

4. Old Warson

Ladue (c)

5. *Persimmon Woods

Weldon Spring (m)

*New to the list in 2020

(m): modern; (c): classic

How we rate them

The members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged together to produce a final rating for each course. Then each course is ranked against other courses in its state, or nationally, to produce the final rankings.

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Callaway Chrome Soft X LS golf ball

Callaway Chrome Soft X LS golf ball https://ift.tt/303VAxA

Gear: Callaway Chrome Soft X LS golf ball
Price: $47.99 per dozen
Specs: Four-piece, urethane-covered ball. Available in white or yellow and with Triple Track alignment lines
Available: March 18

Callaway updated its flagship premium golf balls, the Chrome Soft and Chrome Soft X, in 2020. The focus was on getting more speed from a larger core, creating a higher launch on approach shots and maintaining greenside spin. For most golfers, higher-flying shots create a steeper descent angle, and that can help players stop the ball faster on the greens for enhanced distance control.

However, some players create excessive spin both off the tee and from the fairway, so Callaway is expanding the Chrome Soft family with the introduction of the Chrome Soft X LS for those players.

The Chrome Soft X LS has a large core, two mantle layers and a urethane cover. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The Chrome Soft X, a four-piece ball with a urethane cover, is the most-played Callaway ball on the PGA Tour, and it was the inspiration for the Chrome Soft X LS. The new low-spin version also features a large core, a dual mantle system and a proprietary urethane cover to enhance spin around the greens.

To reduce spin off the tee, Callaway gave the Chrome Soft X LS a different dimple pattern. Yes, the dimples are still hexagonal, but the new pattern decreases drag, Callaway said, to reduce spin on fast-swinging shots.

The Chrome Soft X LS will be available in white and yellow, and there will be white and yellow versions available with Callaway’s Triple Track alignment system as well.

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Annika Sorenstam's gutsy return to the LPGA gave us all the feels

Annika Sorenstam's gutsy return to the LPGA gave us all the feels https://ift.tt/2ZZnGtM

ORLANDO, Florida – In the run-up to last week’s Gainbridge LPGA event, Annika Sorenstam connected with her old swing coach, Henri Reis, for her first golf lesson in nearly 13 years. It was a last-minute cram session of sorts, and a nod to how long it had been since she’d last competed on tour.

“I think it takes a lot of guts to come back and play,” said Pat Hurst, who was on-site at Lake Nona to scout for the U.S. Solheim Cup team.

That Sorenstam made the weekend after such a long hiatus from the game was incredible. In some ways, it felt like stepping into a time machine, watching the same mannerisms and routines from the prime of her career. When Sorenstam doffed her cap and raised her right hand toward the sky in acknowledgement to the crowd, it felt like watching her win 72 times all over again. Only it was more warm than steely.

There was so much for younger generations to take in.

Legendary. pic.twitter.com/DfV5QZF8xY

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) February 25, 2021

Sorenstam went out in a twosome off No. 10 on Sunday with Wei-Ling Hsu. After the round Hsu did what so many players did last week – she asked for a picture with Sorenstam. Then Hsu’s mom did the same.

This was a scrapbook kind of week for much of the field at Gainbridge. Sorenstam didn’t show them the game she’d once had, but there was still so much to learn. When an LPGA rules official approached Sorenstam after Friday’s round to apologize for a mistake he’d made the day before that resulted in an unnecessary penalty stroke, Sorenstam told him not to beat himself up over it, giving a masterclass in grace.

If 9-year-old son Will wanted to analyze her shots on the range or go over course strategy at breakfast, Sorenstam went along with it. She held hands with 11-year-old daughter Ava on her way to the tee and got hug after hug along the rope lines when there was a break in the action. Sometimes she even stepped outside the ropes to visit with family and friends.

Annika Sorenstam talks with her son Will while practicing her chipping prior to the final round of the Gainbridge LPGA at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

This was as much about family as anything else, and a reminder to players that there’s still a rich life ahead after golf.

“I think that’s something they’re going to remember for the rest of their lives,” said Stacy Lewis. “They’re at an age where they’re being influenced by that. … It is really cool. All they’ve ever heard is how great mom was, but they never saw it.”

The adoration on son Will’s face as he looked up toward his mother during her post-round interviews was a highlight of the week. As was his nodding approval when he agreed with her assessment of the day.

“I want them to see when you have a passion for something,” Sorenstam said of her children, “and also what it takes to be good at something. Hopefully that will rub off on whatever they want to do. They can find their passion.”

Walking to the tee with mom.

Two-putt par for Annika on the first. Tee shot split the fairway.

It’s quiet, calm and peaceful out here. Perfect morning. pic.twitter.com/3kYD1XkPPr

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) February 26, 2021

Sorenstam got choked up when she was asked about what it meant to her that so many players were grateful for the opportunity to compete in the same field as one of their heroes for the first time. The ability to help other players achieve their dreams is something she takes seriously.

A big part of competing last week was to get ready for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open. To that end, a number of local players reached out to Sorenstam to let her that know they’d be up for a game if she wanted some at-home competition.

“I look forward to that,” said Sorenstam of deepening new friendships and rekindling old ones.

It’s a long way off until the Senior Women’s Open starts in late July. Sorenstam said she’d need to find something else to play in before that. (The events she’s hosting on the LET this summer comes to mind.)

“I mean, I don’t want to wait four months,” she said, “and here I go back at square one again.”

Whether or not Sorenstam competes on the LPGA again, there’s much to look forward to this summer as she eyes another USGA championship title.

Much like Will, we can’t wait.

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Women's college golf player of the week: Beatrice Wallin, Florida State

Women's college golf player of the week: Beatrice Wallin, Florida State https://ift.tt/36CRPTo

Florida State played its annual Florida State Match-Up for the first time on its new Seminole Legacy Club in Tallahassee, Florida, this weekend and the demands of the newly renovated course were apparent. The Seminoles stuck to their gameplan and used home-course knowledge to author a 37-shot victory over runner-up Kent State.

Florida State junior Beatrice Wallin claimed the individual title with rounds of 66-68-70 and at 12 under for 54 holes, set a tournament scoring record.

This marked the first time Wallin got to play her team’s home event at Florida State’s actual home course considering it had previously been under renovation.

“We were all super excited and then when we all played well, it was just awesome to see,” she said. “My own game was really good so I was just … enjoying every single moment.”

Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Women’s team | Women’s individual
College golf blog: The Road to Grayhawk

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Women's college golf team of the week: Baylor

Women's college golf team of the week: Baylor https://ift.tt/36CRPTo

With each victory Baylor’s women add to their season total, their story develops a few more layers.

As of last week at the Icon Invitational, the Bears have now won five times – in other words, they’ve won every time they have teed it up this season. Baylor’s latest five-shot victory at the Houston-hosted Icon Invitational had a little bit of an extra twist. The team had been snowed in for the week leading up to the event when a freak winter storm dropped 7 inches of snow in Waco, Texas.

Baylor managed to overcome a disastrous start in which the team went 6 over in the opening five holes. After 54 holes, Baylor was 24 under. A wave of freshman birdies to end the final round secured the top spot for Baylor.

“One thing I know from this team, we’ve continued to battle adversity better than I’ve ever seen a team do,” head coach Jay Goble said. “The really cool thing for me to see this week is we’ve been snowed in for seven days and had temperatures below 0 last week and we didn’t play golf for seven days before Saturday.

“They’re so good that they legit figured out how to get their games back quickly.”

Next up? The Bears venture out of the Midwest for the first time this season to tee it up at the South Carolina Collegiate.

Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Women’s team | Women’s individual
College golf blog: The Road to Grayhawk

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Men's college golf team of the week: Illinois Fighting Illini