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What You’ll Need to Watch The Masters in 3D

by James on March 20, 2010 in News with 3 Comments
What You'll Need to Watch The Masters in 3D

What You'll Need to Watch The Masters in 3D

Chances are you’ve heard that Comcast is broadcasting The Masters in 3D. Cool, for sure… but do you have the equipment and television necessary to enjoy the broadcast? Are you ready to view The Masters in full-out 3D? Keep reading to find out if you have the equipment you need.

Comcast has designs on outputting a side-by-side 1080i MPEG-2 transmission. If this doesn’t mean anything to you, no worries, it means nothing to me either. The quick translation is Comcast’s HD set-top boxes connected through HDMI are already more than capable of handling the signal. So, if you already have the box, it’s time to load up on a 3D HDTV

Quite honestly, the pricing isn’t as expensive as you’d think. I recently popped over to Best Buy to check them out, and Samsung seems to be the brand of choice, with their 46″ and 55″ 3D HDTV’s both readily available. These 3D HDTV’s are 1080p, run at 240Hz, and will set you back $2,339.99 for the 46″ model, and $2969.99 for the 55″. Not bad at all.

I’ve included the product links below from Best Buy. Check ’em out, and if you’re willing to drop a few grand, it COULD be worth it! (really, the price isn’t that much more than similar non-3D LED and LCD televisions!)

What are your thoughts? Too expensive? Or perhaps you just don’t care? Will plain ‘old’ 2D do you just fine?

Note: For the 3D HDTVs above, the 3D glasses are not included… You’ll need to purchase those separately.

Could we see a Shorter Augusta National for the 2010 Masters?

by James on March 19, 2010 in News, Courses with 2 Comments
Entrance to the 2nd Green at Augusta National

The entrance to the 2nd Green at Augusta National has been widened by 8 feet.

The anticipation growing in the pit of my stomach for this years’ Masters. At least, I think that’s what it is… it could also be the Thai food I ate for dinner.

Thai food aside, the excitement is growing by the minute, and as April draws near, I find myself reading (and watching) more Masters goodness than a guy can handle. Earlier today, I was poking around the Golf Channel when I came across the Shag Bag Blog (If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend). One quick post in particular that I came across was by Rex Hoggard, and it touched upon the changes (or lack thereof) to Augusta National this year.

The changes to the course for the 2010 edition of the Masters are surprisingly small… in fact, some would even consider them surprising. The 2nd hole has had the entry to the green widened by 8 feet. This should make for more birdies and eagles at the 575 yard par 5. Also worth noting is the fact that the 5th and 13th teeboxes have been extended… FORWARD. I had to do a double-take the first time I read that! But it’s true! The fifth is a challenging dogleg left par 4 at 455 yards. The 13th of course is one of the most famous par 5’s the world over, measuring 510 yards. The extension of the teeing areas forward on these holes should make for shorter approach shots on 5, and more green-hitting attempts on the par 5 13th.

In the end, we know we’re not going to see the tees forward very much… But if and when we do, we can count on more birdies and eagles than we’re used to seeing. We could be in for a real treat at The Masters this year, weather pending 🙂

Contest: Predict Tiger’s Score at The Masters, Win a Copy of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11!

by James on March 18, 2010 in Contests with No comments

With Tiger Woods returning to the PGA Tour at The Masters (April 5-11), I couldn’t be happier. Yes, the whole situation over the past few months has been disappointing to say the very least, but we need to let the man do what he does best… GOLF… and when he returns at The Masters I’ll be glued to the TV set, watching him every step of the way.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011 Contest

To help ‘celebrate’ the world’s #1 return to the course, I thought it may be fun to run a little contest. Up for grabs? Well, that’d be a copy of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011 for the console of your choice! The game will be available in-stores on June 8th, so yeah, you’ll have to wait a little while to get it… But good things come to those that wait! The game will be available at launch for the Wii, PS3 and XBOX 360, so the winner will simply have to let me know the console they prefer, and the game will be on the way. Deal? Deal!

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11

Win a copy of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11!

Now, on to the details on entering. The concept is simple. We’re going to see who can predict Tiger’s round and total score as closely as possible. This should be fun. 1 point will be awarded for a correct round score, and 4 points will be awarded for a correct total score. In the event of a tie, a custom tie-breaker contest will be held during Tiger’s next tourny to break it. Sound good? OK, now here are the steps you’ve got to follow to enter, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

  1. Follow us on Twitter. It takes literally one second. Follow us @GolfCrunchLive.
  2. Tweet the contest to your followers AT LEAST ONCE. Again, this only takes a few seconds.
  3. Leave a comment to THIS post, with your round scores and total score, in this format: 70 69 67 71 = 277
    (Note: If you think he’s going to miss the cut, format your entry like this: 75 74 = 149)

That’s it. 3 easy steps, and you’re in.

Can you enter multiple times? YES. Once every 24 hours.
That said, anyone blatantly hitting up the contest with entry after entry on the same day will be disqualified. Also, along with every entry we ask that you tweet about the contest to your followers. So, if you’re entered 5 times in the contest, I better see at least 5 tweets about the contest! Sound like a fair deal? Good!

At the conclusion of The Masters, I’ll go through all entries to determine a winner. In fact, I’ll probably put together a contest ‘leaderboard’ of sorts to show off all entries and scores entered. Should be fun to see the scoring people enter!

Once I’ve determined the winner, I’ll hit up Twitter to determine if the winner is indeed following us, and if they ‘tweeted’ the contest to their followers. If not, I’ll go down the list to the second place person and do the same.

Sound good? Great!

Let’s get predictin’! Follow us, tweet the contest to your followers and enter your scores here in the comments.

GOOD LUCK!

Note: Cut-off for contest entries is 11:59CST on April 7th.

Why Tiger’s Return at The Masters Makes Sense (& Dollars)

by Annie Latham on March 17, 2010 in News with No comments

The folks at PGATour.com did a post that proposed six reasons why Tiger returning for The Masters makes sense.  Not that the listing is in any particular order, but the first one happens to be “Controlled Environment.”  We all know Tiger likes control.

Reason 5, “Competing Storyline” makes a good point.  The Masters event is the first “major” of the year.  According to Nielsen, when comparing TV ratings for the final rounds of golf’s four major tournaments since 1977, they found that the top ten telecasts were all from the Masters.

Clearly, with or without Tiger, The Masters tournament itself is an attention getter.  We already noted that The Masters will be available in 3-D, which is a storyline too.  No doubt, Tiger will be the main attraction this year, but he won’t be the only story.

As for six reasons CBS and ESPN should be ecstatic about Tiger’s return (ESPN will air the first two rounds while CBS will broadcast the final two round), check these numbers from a Nielsen Wire post that appeared in February 2009:

The Nielsen Company compared the network TV ratings for the 3rd and 4th rounds of golf tournaments played by Woods after the U.S. Open in 2007 with those same tournaments he missed in 2008 due to a season-ending knee injury. And the results are just what you might expect: Tiger’s absence almost singlehandedly sliced tour ratings in half.

For the broadcasters, and let’s include the Golf Channel in that mix, all six reasons have to do with dollar bills (perhaps “pots of gold”).

San Diego’s a Go! Farmers Signs 4-Year Title Sponsor Deal

by Annie Latham on March 16, 2010 in News with No comments

The AP is reporting that Farmers Insurance Group has just signed a 4-year title sponsorship deal for the PGA Tour stop held at Torrey Pines in San Diego.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.  PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem did say that next year’s purse would increase half a million from this year, to $5.8 million.

The Torrey Pines event, now known as the Farmers Insurance Open, is held during the West Coast Swing in January.  For the 2010 event, Farmers signed on to be title sponsor the week before the event.  Since 1992, it had been known as the Buick Invitational.  Things changed when the automaker’s parent company, General Motors, filed for bankruptcy and ended its sponsorship last year.

The Masters to Broadcast in 3D; Comcast Distributing for Free

by Annie Latham on March 16, 2010 in News with No comments

The Masters Golf Tournament to Broadcast in 3D

Another day, another 3D announcement.  This time, it came from an unlikely source — Augusta National Golf Club and Masters Tournament Chairman Billy Payne.  They just issued a press release stating that the 2010 Masters will be produced and broadcast live in 3D.

“This innovative step forward, the first of its kind in golf, will include multiple 3D cameras placed strategically throughout the course resulting in perspectives never before seen of Augusta National.”

Sony, IBM and Comcast on board.

Sony Electronics will support the golf effort not only as a sponsor of the 3D Masters telecast, but will showcase the latest advances in professional camera equipment and its 3D-capable televisions. Comcast will join in the production effort and provide the distribution channels necessary to deliver the content free to its households throughout the U.S. Additionally, Comcast and IBM, the tournament’s technology partner, will combine efforts to offer the 3D feed via www.masters.com.

There will be two hours of live afternoon 3D coverage each day starting with  the Par 3 Contest scheduled for April 7.

New Website for St. Andrews Links Features Open Countdown Timer, Old Course Webcams and More

by Annie Latham on March 15, 2010 in News, Courses with No comments

At the PGA Merchandise show in January, the new official website for St. Andrews Links was launched.

Alan McGregor, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said:

“The website is such an important part of our business. It acts as a gateway to the Home of Golf for so many users around the world who are either coming here or who aspire to come here. It has been a major project for us to develop the new site in time for the Open this year and we are pleased to have a new and improved service to offer our golfing customers.”

Indeed, when you arrive at the site, the first thing you’ll encounter is a countdown clock. The Open will be held 15 – 18 July.

There is a stroll down memory lane in the Old Course section.  Also, you’ll find a hole guide with playing advice.  The webcam feature is kind of fun too.

And, of course, there is a brand new Golf Shop section which enables visitors to purchase a full range of official Open 2010, Old Course, St Andrews Links and Castle Course apparel and merchandise.

The new site replaces one that was developed in 2003.

New Stat for Measuring Putts… ‘Putts Gained Per Round’

by Annie Latham on March 14, 2010 in News with No comments

New Stat for Measuring Putts

The Wall Street Journal’s John Paul Newport (Golf Journal) did a story about a new way of measuring putts.  Sure that sounds odd, but it is just because golf hasn’t come up with cool stat names like baseball has (OBP, WHIP, etc.).

The traditional way measuring putting skill among the world’s best golfers is  “putting average” which measures the number of putts that a player takes per round when his ball lands on the green in regulation.

Newport points out “Not only does this approach exclude about 30% of putts attempted on the PGA Tour (those made on greens not reached in regulation), but it also rewards the accuracy of shots into the green as much as it does putting skill.”

One example he provides is of someone who lays up and then chips to a one-putt.

Apparently, none of the current statistics take into account the relative difficulty of the greens played. “Players who compete on a higher percentage of courses with tricky greens, such as at the majors, get a bum deal,” he said.

Throw some MIT researchers (Sloan School of Management) and some computing power (care of PGA Tour’s technology partner, CDW) and what do you get?

A metric called “putts gained per round.”

It starts with creating a baseline from which the golfers will be measured.

  • From 10 feet, the average number of putts that Tour pros take is 1.63.
  • At around 30 feet, the putts-to-go average starts exceeding two. From 40, the average is 2.15.
  • Then there is an adjustment for difficulty of the green.

The model compares the results of each putt a pro takes to the expected putts-to-go average on that particular green by a hypothetical average field If a player holes a 15- footer whose value is 1.82, he gains .82 strokes on the field. If he needs two putts, he loses .18 strokes on the field. At the end of the round, the model adds up all the pluses and minuses to produce the net putts-gained statistic.

Cool huh?

Newport noted that Luke Donald was the best putter in 2009 based on this stat.  Tiger Woods showed favorable numbers too.

It is nice to see the PGA Tour “smartening” up when it comes to offering meaningful stats for such a key aspect of the game.

The complete story can be found here (subscription required).

5 Fun Facts About Doral’s ‘Blue Monster’

by James on March 13, 2010 in Courses with No comments

Doral's Blue Monster

With the World Golf Championships-CA Championship coming to a conclusion at Doral this weekend, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some facts about this tricky track. Sure, we all know the Doral Resort and Spa Blue Course is dubbed the ‘Blue Monster’ due to its length and abundance of water… but did you know some of these interesting tidbits below? Check ’em out to find out for yourself!

1. The course was designed by Dick Wilson and Robert von Hagge in 1961. Together with the PGA Tour and the folks at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa, Raymond Floyd gave it some redesign attention in 2006. The course plays to a par 72, and houses 110 bunkers, 11 mammoth water hazards, and greens of Bermudagrass.

Robert Allenby

2. In tournament play, there have been 10 hole-in-ones recorded at Doral. The most recent of which came from Robert Allenby on the 233 yard 13th hole. The club he used to sink the magical ace? A 5-wood.

Hole-in-ones by hole: 3 at #4, 3 at #9, 3 at #15… and Allenby’s ace at the 13th was the first ever recorded on the hole in tournament play.

Stephen Ames

3. The course record at Doral is 61 by Stephen Ames. The 11-under round was shot back in 2000 in the Doral-Ryder Open (as it was known at the time). By the end of the tournament, he finished 8th.

4. In terms of difficulty, the Doral ‘Blue Monster’ is ranked 40th out of 54 tracks on the PGA Tour (this ranking is from 2008). With a total yardage over 7,200 yards, it is indeed a ‘Monster’, yet, many of the pros do use a lot of fairway woods off the tee.

Top View of the 18th at Doral

5. The most difficult hole on the course? That would easily be the finale at the 18th. A par 4 at 467 yards, this tough one will play havoc with your mind. An extremely tough (and precise) drive is needed. The fairway narrows to only 32 yards roughly 275 yards from the tee. The trick is to avoid the water left, while keeping your shot from sliding right into the rough. A ball played from the rough for a second shot will require an exceptional effort to reach the green (guarded by water and 2 bunkers) safely in two. The finisher at Doral has consistently been among the toughest holes on tour, with stroke averages ranging from 4.10 to 4.63 in recent years.

So there you have it. 5 fun facts about Doral’s Blue Monster… Hopefully the info will give you some more background and appreciation for the tough track our beloved pros are navigating this weekend. Get ready for an awesome finish on the 18th… no lead is safe!

Golfsmith Announces Callaway Driver Contest: If Phil Wins…

by Annie Latham on March 12, 2010 in News, Contests, Callaway, Drivers with 1 Comment

Golfsmith, the golf specialty retailer, has teamed up with Callaway Golf to offer folks an opportunity to win a new driver if Phil Mickelson is victorious this April in Augusta at the 2010 Masters.

The announcement states:

Starting today and ending April 7, golfers who purchase one of three new Callaway drivers – the Diablo Edgeâ„¢, FT-Tourâ„¢ or FT-iZâ„¢ – at any Golfsmith store across the country will have the purchase price of their Callaway driver fully refunded by Golfsmith if Phil wins the Masters at Augusta, April 8-11.

The rules say, “No purchase is necessary.”

To enter without buying a driver, what you have to do is go to a Golfsmith retail location and ask them for an official “Win With Phil” entry form to fill out and mail in.

Golfsmith estimates thousands of people will take advantage of the promotion, which is available through more than seventy stores from coast to coast. To learn more about Golfsmith’s promotion with Callaway Golf, stop by any Golfsmith store or visit www.golfsmith.com/winwithPhil. This promotion is available only in Golfsmith’s U.S. stores.

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