Bloggin' In The New Year

I'm going to work myself back into this gradually....Just dip my toe into it and see how it goes.  Tomorrow is a travel day, so you're on your own then....  Oh, and thy're had two feet of unexpected snow over the last couple of days, so there might be some tree lines that need shredding....

Musical Chairs - With Nike out (of hard goods, that is) and PXG and Cally ascendant, it's crazy times in the golf world...  In no particular order:

Jason Day plays millennial and uses Instagram to report he's now in the Cult of the Swoosh:

OK, but this is his announcement that he's with Nike and all anyone will notice is the hideously deformed grills on the new Lexuses (Lexi?)....

Menawhile, he's still with TaylorMade for sticks and balls...  TaylorMade hasn't gone anywhere, much to the regret of Adidas.

Perhaps the most surprising news comes from Rory, and the surprise is that everyone gets to play:

After Nike exited the equipment business this season, Rory McIlroy mentioned that he had no intentions to sign a new deal. Rather, he planned on spending time experimenting

with different selections on the market, waiting to find the right comfort level. It appears the four-time major winner's search is over. 

Though McIlroy has not agreed to new endorsements, he will flaunt new sticks in 2017. According to a report from NoLayingUp.com, McIlroy is switching to Callaway woods (the new GBB Epic Sub Zero) and irons (Apex MB), an Odyssey putter and Titleist ball (Pro V1x) and wedges (Titleist Vokey). 

“I want to play the new ProV1x ball and I know the Callaway driver works the best with it," McIlroy told the site. "I also know my Nike irons don’t work as well with the Titleist ball because of the groove format. Too spinny, and a loss of distance."

Rumors that he was going to use the new Cally driver have been making the rounds, but the Odyssey putter was a surprise, as was the Titlist reunion.  No word on who gets his 3-year stash of Nike balls with "Rors" embedded.

This was also confirmed:

After a year in which it established itself as a legitimate equipment company, PXG made

an early push to continue its momentum in 2017 by announcing this morning it has signed a quartet of LPGA players, led by World No. 1 Lydia Ko along with reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion Brittany Lang (who used PXG irons in her win but wasn’t on staff), three-time LPGA winner Christina Kim and former Solheim Cupper Ryann O’Toole. The foursome joins Cristie Kerr, Alison Lee, Sadena Parks, Gerina Piller and Beatriz Recari as LPGA players on PXG’s staff.

Just add it to the list....  She looks great in black and white, though in my heart I think that Cally is a better fit for her image-wise.

Lastly, this one I didn't see coming:

Bubba Waston already plays a pink driver. Now he’s likely adding a pink ball to the mix.

According to multiple sources, including Bubba Watson himself (at the Tournament of

Champions in Hawaii), the lefty bomber has signed an agreement to play Volvik golf balls on the PGA Tour in 2017. 

Formerly a Titleist Pro V1x player, the two-time Masters Champion evidently first took notice of Volvik while watching the World Long Drive Championship where all the players were mashing colored golf balls made by the South Korean manufacturer. Never one to shy away from colorful gear, Watson reportedly experimented with some of the Volvik golf balls while in China and found that he liked the performance. 

Prior to Watson's signing, Volvik golf balls have been used mostly on the LPGA Tour and Asian Tours, though Craig Stadler has played them on the Champions Tour.

Well, if it's good enough for Stads.....  Can we pair Lydia and Bubba in a mixed event?   And, it just occurred to me, what ball is Lydia going to play?

The Tour Confidential Panel had some interesting subjects, including about Rory's equipment tinkering.  Rather than opine, Mike Bamberger shared a story from the Wabac machine:

Michael Bamberger: I agree, Jeff. I was with Rory when he was 19 and at the Titleist testing center for the first time. He and his father were hitting balls. Bob Vokey himself was handing wedges to the kid, and they were the most beautiful things you've ever seen. Nike made some very nice wedges, but I don't know anybody who wouldn't want to play Vokey wedges. I was also awed by Rory's ability to describe the flight characteristics of the different Titleist balls. At one point he asked his father what club he was hitting. Titleist, the father answered. "I wouldn't think you'd be playing TaylorMade," Rory said. There's a lot to be said for first love.

Most interesting about this week's panel is that John Wood, caddie for Matt Kuchar, sits in and shares a series of interesting perspectives:

John Wood (@johnwould): From a caddie's perspective, I'd want all this settled as soon as possible. There are three areas I would stress. I want to see him confident over his driver, looking for reasons to hit it as opposed to reasons to avoid it. I want to see distance control and consistent trajectory with his irons (which is the mostly the ball), and I want to see him comfortable over his putter, especially within five feet. Seeing how far Rory was hitting the TaylorMade in China, it would surprise me if he went away from that. The rest I think can be figured out fairly quickly. Rory is a smart guy. He can do the math and figure out there is no financial reason to play any club he doesn't think is the best in its field. In my mind he is most likely not chasing any of this equipment with an endorsement in mind, but narrowing his choices to find what his best options are to win golf tournaments. The contracts will be there in the end.

John, that's the kind of annoyingly sensible thought that will get you banished....

The Future Is Now -  Some other items of note from the Confidentialistas:

3. Of the 2017 majors—Masters at Augusta, U.S. Open at Erin Hills, British Open at Birkdale and PGA Championship at Quail Hollow—which most intrigues you?

BAMBERGER: I am very nervous about Erin Hills. Not a flowing walking course, for one thing. Augusta is golf's ultimate spring flower, and this year, with that lineup, and Rory looking to go quad and Jordan looking to bury '16, I think it'll be the best of 'em. 

SHIPNUCK: Quail Hollow does nothing for me since we're so familiar with it as an everyday Tour track. Erin Hills could be a disaster; at best, I think it will be O.K. Birkdale might be the best course in the Open rota, so that's a strong second choice in this discussion. But the buildup to this Masters is going to be intense, with Day, Rory, Dustin, Jordan and assorted others all peaking, or trying to. I think it'll be an epic Masters.

Mike, everyone is nervous about Erin Hills....  John Wood disses Birkdale, which is a perfectly fine Open Championship venue, probably the best of the four English sites.

Quail Hollow hard to get excited about, especially in August.  I'm not a fan of taking majors to Tour sites, unless the time of year allows for significantly sterner conditions and it's Pebble Beach....

4. A year ago in this space we asked the panel which major-less player would nab his or her first major title in 2016. (Bonus points to Jeff Ritter and Alan Shipnuck for their respective Danny Willett and Dustin Johnson picks.) Looking ahead to 2017, which player is most likely to win his or her first major and at what venue?

RITTER: Thanks for mentioning what was just about the only prediction I got right last year. For '17, Hideki is the obvious answer, but I will pass on the layup and take a shot at Kevin Chappell, who has been trending the right direction for a couple years and has flashed in a few majors. I could see him breaking through at the PGA.

That's quite a bold pick, considering that Chappell has become famous mostly for managing to not win anything.....  But Willett was quite a pick....

The other picks are more conventional:

BAMBERGER: Patrick Reed. Birkdale. In a playoff over Danny Willett and Dustin Johnson. 

SHIPNUCK: Koepka was so impressive at the Ryder Cup, and a lot of guys have used that momentum for major career upgrades. I think this is his year. 

GODICH: Well, nobody has more Ryder Cup momentum than Reed. He wins at Quail Hollow. 

WOOD: Obviously, Matt Kuchar will win all 4.

Yeah, there's a reason I told you whose name is on every check he cashes....

6. If you were sketching out New Year's resolutions for the game, what would be on the top of your list?

RITTER: Golf's biggest problem is its declining number of players. Do whatever it takes regarding rules, access, affordability and fun to get more folks on the course. 

BAMBERGER: I don't agree, Jeff. Golf has always been a fringe sport and most likely always will be. Paint the white stakes red, cut the rough, move the tees forward, get golf in more public schools. The game is fine. The game is great.

I'm gonna side with Mike here (I know, you're shocked), but I'd encourage him to use "niche" in lieu of "fringe".

This, however, gets an official Unplayable Lies "If Only":

SHIPNUCK: Have every private course in the U.S. follow the UK model and allow the public to play a couple of times a week. Why do only a few hundred people get to play Cypress Point or Pine Valley or Augusta National? They should be like Yosemite or the Grand Canyon: national treasures that should be enjoyed by all. Can you imagine the excitement that would tear through the golf world if all the great private courses cracked open the doors? Charge $300 a tee time, give half the money to junior golf and the world would be a much better place.

And I don't care if they keep my money....

Also, Brentley Romine lays out his wish list for 2017, and here are a few on which we find common ground:

We’d like to see kid talent Billy Jenkins interview Tiger Woods. We know Rory McIlroy will second that. 

We’d like to see Ernie Els collect his 20th PGA Tour title. 

We’d like to see Bubba Watson play a green ball at the Masters. He is rumored to be switching to a Volvik ball in 2017. 

We’d like to see Andrew “Beef” Johnston at #SB2K17. Our money is on Beef winning any sort of drinking contest. 

We’d like to see Michelle Wie win again. Obviously.

OK, I'm not staying up nights worried about SB2K17..... 

As for these two related to the ladies, I'll just wish him good luck:

We’d like to see a tight contest down the stretch at the raucous Solheim Cup in Iowa, with a heavy dose of good sportsmanship. A singles showdown between Cristie Kerr and Suzann Pettersen would be the icing.

We’d like to see politics stay out of the U.S. Women’s Open at Trump National. Let the women have the stage.

I'll leave you nice folks there and see you on the other side.