THE CALLAWAY MAVERICK DRIVER-THE CALLAWAY JAWS WEDGES by Roger Cleveland. Both worth a look for those needing new sticks. Go Visit CallawayGolf.com _____________________________________________________________________
THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation for Golfers on Golf. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy and on LinkedIn or Facebook. In the Mistwood Golf Course Performance Center in Romeoville.
THE TEST’S WERE POSITIVE, there is of course NO-Corona Virus, just golf clubs that add distance and accuracy.
Callaway Golf’s Maverick Line of clubs and the new Roger Cleveland designed Jaws Wedges, do just that.
I spent last Thursday morning in the Mistwood Golf Performance Center with fitting specialist Chris Ioriatti, both Chris and Eric Russell make a great team of fitters at the Mistwood Golf Club. Golf Digest named Mistwood one of the Top 100 fitting locations in the country.
I tried out the new Maverick Line of Clubs, and hit the Jaws Wedges both by Callaway. Thumbs-Up from me on both. I gained 17 yards on a Maverick 7-Iron over my current model, and some yardage and spin on the Jaws Wedges. If your in the market for new clubs, check out both products before you make a decision. More courses and companies are having demo days again, and you should attend one to learn more about what’s the best options available in equipment, and in golf balls.
Cog Hill Long Drive Ale-now available on tap or in cans at Cog Hill.
LONG DRIVE ALE-Now Available, but there are no long drives on the range to go along with it.
Over the winter Cog Hill was selected to have it’s biggest event since the 2011 BMW Championship was played on Course #4 and won by Justin Rose.
The World Long Drive Championship was coming to town, and more than once. In fact WLD was supposed to visit Cog Hill for the next five years in a row.
There was word a month or so ago, that the tour was for sale by the owners, The Golf Channel.
Now there seems to be no tour at all. Events are listed as cancelled, or in the case of the tour championship at Cog Hill in September. Suspended. I’m still waiting for more information from Cog Hill, but the WLD website says they are looking for new partner to take over the tour, who can operate it in a safe manner during these pandemic times. Stay tuned for more from this long drive as it tries to hit the fairway.,
The Illinois Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
SHOULD HE STAY OR SHOULD HE GO !
Former PGA of America President and the first and third winner of the Masters Tournament Horton Smith, was labeled as someone with racist views back in the 1950’s, when Smith served as the PGA of America President.
Smith tried to stop former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis from playing in the 1952 San Diego Open because Louis was black. But as an invited amateur, Louis did play in the SDO after-all. However black professional Bill Spiller was denied entrance into the 52-SDO. This was documented during an ESPN feature in 2008. The PGA of America has taken the Horton Smith Award and renamed it the PGA Player Development Award. That begs the question, what will the Illinois PGA Section do about it’s Horton Smith Award, last won in 2019 by teaching professional Todd Sones who works out of White Deer Run.
In 2017 after a push by Oak Park Country Club members, where Smith served as head golf professional for four years in the 1930’s, Smith was voted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame. Now will the IL. Golf Hall of Fame committee let him stay. Smith is also in the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, and in 1990 was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In Smith’s hometown of Springfield Missouri, there is a public course named after him.
Now that the PGA of America has opened this can of worms, that includes a statement from President Suzy Whaley that says “The PGA of America is taking ownership of a Failed Chapter in our history.” Where does it all stop. There is a lot more to the history of Horton Smith than just one national award, and some of it is found at the Glen Club in Glenview, where the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame resides.
MORE FROM THE PGA and the PGA Merchandise Show People. The news is all the safety precautions that will be in place for next January’s 2021 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando because of the pandemic. Wider isles, more hand sanitizers, different food options, and even a mask plan for all show-goers. But good news is that all of this could change and none of the above might be needed, so they say. Let’s hope the 2021 show plays out like the many shows before it and the major of golf business, is a major event that comes out a winner.
CONGRATULATIONS to 2015 U.S. Amateur Champion at Olympia Fields Bryson DeChambeau on his win yesterday at the Rocket Mortgage Championship in Detroit. Dechambeau should be returning to Olympia Fields late next month to play in the BMW Championship.
WHICH BEGS more questions….a planned BMW Championship media day was cancelled last week. Leaving some to speculate the tournament would be cancelled as well. That does NOT appear to be the case. What Western Golf Association (WGA) and PGA Tour officials would like to do, is get more information from health officials and the State of ILL. about the possibility of fan attendance and or how many before having the media event. So if someone tells you the BMW is cancelled, don’t believe them.
KUDO’s to Northbrook’s very own Nick Hardy on another Top 10 on the Korn Ferry Tour, with a 7th place finish in Colorado this past week, at the Art Schaupeter designed TPC Colorado. Schaupeter gets the credit for his design at Highlands of Elgin, plus an assist on the Greg Martin redesign at Oak Meadows, now known as “The Preserve”, part of DuPage Golf.
I’M LOOKING FORWARD to another tour around the final 9 holes coming in from renovation at the Schaumburg Golf Club. The Tournament Nine appears to be headed towards an August 1st opening, and finally after years of hard work. The facility improvements will be completed. Stay clicked in for more on the Schaumburg Golf Club.
THE GOG BLOG returns all week. RS