2008 September | ProgolferDigest - The Golf Blog by Junger Woods

Archive for September, 2008

Golf Game for the iPhone!

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

A new golf game is available for the iPhone. Please knock yourselves out.

Princeton, NJ (PRWEB) August 4, 2008 – RESETgame has developed the first golf game available for iPhone. The product, Par 72 Golf, features three 18 hole golf courses set in desert, ocean and mountain environments. The game also features user choice of male or female avatar, 3D rendered graphics, and realistic physics. The game is designed for busy professional smart phone users who would like to take time out for a relaxing round of golf. Play is easy, quick and fun.

In addition to Par 72 Golf, the company has also developed the very first 3D shooter game for the iPhone, Tank Ace 1944. The first 3D Pool game for iPhone, Vegas Pool Sharks and the first volleyball game for iPhone, Beach Volleyball. All four games are available now on the iPhone App store. The games also work on the iPod Touch device.

via prweb

Tags: 3d shooter, beach volleyball, first golf, four games, golf features, golf game, hole golf courses, iphone, ipod touch, mountain environments, new golf, pool game, pool sharks, realistic physics, shooter game, smart phone users, volleyball game
Posted in Golf News | No Comments »

Zakiya Randall, 17-Year-Old Female Teen Wins Against Adult-Men Amateurs!

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Here’s an upcoming LPGA star Zakiya Randall, a 17 year old teen who won against top male amateurs players in Georgia. I know Georgia has some really good players and this means watch out Michelle Wie!

Here’s the full press release:

Zakiya Randall, 17-Year-Old Teen Golf Star, Fondly Known by Fans as “Z” makes history and becomes the Only and Youngest Female to win on the Georgia Golf Amateur Tour.

Atlanta (PRWEB) September 11, 2008 — Zakiya Randall, 17-Year-Old Teen Golf Star, Fondly Known by Fans as “Z” makes history and becomes the Only and Youngest Female to win on the Golf Channel Georgia Tour. After already qualifying for the Georgia Golf Channel Championship by placing in the Top Percentile on the most difficult level of play on the Golf Tour, she goes on to Win the Final Tournament of the Season on September 7, 2008 at Arbor Springs Golf & Resort Club also known as the Coweta Club in Newnan, Georgia.

Zakiya Randall

I am excited to be able to win on one of the most challenging golf courses in Georgia against some of the best Adult-Men Amateur players on the Georgia Golf Tour

“I am excited to be able to win on one of the most challenging golf courses in Georgia against some of the best Adult-Men Amateur players on the Georgia Golf Tour,” Randall said. “I have been working on some swing mechanics for further improvements so this win on the Tour in the Final Tournament of the season is really special.”

The field included approximately 50 of some of the best Adult-Men Amateur Tour Players in Georgia. She now joins an Elite list of amateur level golfers that has also Qualified to play at the National Level on the Golf Channel Tour.

Zakiya, known by fans as “Z”, has become a media darling. She has been in Sports Illustrated, EBONY Magazine, on Tavis Smiley Radio Show, The Golf Channel TV Show, Nominated as a Finalist for outstanding talents and have been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers and on-line journals around the world.

Randall took up Golf at the age of 10 and after winning a series of Tennis tournaments she was immediately successful in Golf, winning ‘Player of the Year’ Honors. To become a part of this exciting experience and make a donation or for more information, visit www.zakiyarandall.com.

Tags: adult men, amateur level, amateur players, challenging golf, ebony magazine, georgia golf, georgia tour, golf amateur, golf channel, golf star, golf tour, line journals, male amateurs, media darling, newnan georgia, springs golf, swing mechanics, teen golf, tour atlanta, zakiya randall
Posted in Golf News | 2 Comments »

Camilo Villegas Wins the Tour Championships!

Sunday, September 28th, 2008

Camilo Villegas wins the Tour Championships to finish the 2008 PGA Tour in style. What seemed like a bad bogey on 16th hole was recovered with a remarkable birdie on the 17th hole by Camilo.

That makes it 2 wins in the last 2 starts, the last time that someone won 2 consecutive tournaments was over 10 years ago.

What makes it interesting is that Camilo was able to beat all the best players in the world with his A+ game on Sunday yet again.

I feel very sorry for Sergio Garcia, who I believe has more talent but talent and luck must come together on the last day for someone to win.

Make sure to check out our swing analysis on Camilo Villegas too.

Tags: 10 years, birdie, bogey, Camilo Villegas, consecutive tournaments, game, last time, pga-tour, sergio garcia, tour championships
Posted in Camilo Villegas | No Comments »

Golf Ball History – Featheries, Gutta Percha, and more…

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

Golf balls have been developed for over the last 500-600 years or so and it’s very interesting to note that golf balls in the beginning, consisted of bird feathers stuffed inside some cow/horse leather called, “Featherie”.

Now, these featheries were great for couple hundered years.

Here’s an excerpt from golfeurope.com on featherie history:

In 1618 the feather golf ball or ‘Featherie’ was introduced. This was a handcrafted ball made with goose feathers tightly packed into a horsefeatherie golf ball or cow hide sphere. The feathers and leather were fashioned into a ball while wet. As the assembly dried out the leather shrank and the feathers expanded to create a hardened ball. The ball was then finished off by painting it and punched with the ball-makers mark. Quality varied according to the skill of the craftsman. Unfortunately, the handcrafted nature of the balls meant that they were priced beyond the pockets of the masses, sometimes more expensive than a club. Notable ball-makers of the 1600s were Andrew Dickson, Leith and Henry Mills, St Andrews.

Next up is the Gutta Percha, made from the rubber tree sap given off by the Gutta tree. These balls were definitely easy to mold but couldn’t really travel beyond 200 yards. They still didn’t have “dimples” which allow golf balls to travel further.

Here’s an excerpt from thedesignshop.com on Gutta Percha history:

The first “Gutta” ball is believed to have been made in 1848 by the Rev. Dr. Robert Adams Paterson from gutta-percha packing material. Gutta-percha is the evaporated milky juice or latex produced from a tree most commonly found in Malaysia. It is hard and non-brittle and becomes soft and impressible at the temperature of boiling water. Gutta balls, were handmade by rolling the softened material on a board. The new durability of the Gutta, together with its much lower cost, resistance to water, and improved run, provided rejuvenation to the game of golf. Not without some resistance from traditionalists, the Gutta gradually replaced the Feathery.

After that, there’s the rubber core golf ball, then balatas, and now 3-piece core balls.

Perhaps, one day, golf manufacturers will start making these cool featheries and gutta perchas for the masses to enjoy. Imagine playing your same 7,000 yard championship course with these old balls. Then, you will be able to appreciate modern golf equipment.

Well, there it is and I hope you enjoyed a little history of golf balls.

Here’s some golf ball history resource links you might want to check out:

Tags: 1600s, andrew dickson, bird feathers, cow hide, cow horse, dimples, dr robert, golf-ball, golf-balls, goose feathers, gutta, leith, milky juice, packing material, rejuvenation, rev dr, robert adams, rubber tree, temperature of boiling water, traditionalists
Posted in Golf News | 1 Comment »

Americans win the 2008 RyderCup!

Sunday, September 21st, 2008

Americans win the Ryder Cup this year pretty easily. (without trying)

I think it was really unfair for the Europeans as the American players had better players this year. Well, I cannot prove it by any statistics but take a look at how the teams faired on Sunday here as proof:

Match 1 – FINAL
A. Kim	Wins 5 & 4
S. Garcia
Match Details

Match 2 – FINAL
H. Mahan	Halved
P. Casey	Halved
Match Details

Match 3 – FINAL
J. Leonard
R. Karlsson	Wins 5 & 3
Match Details

Match 4 – FINAL
P. Mickelson
J. Rose	Wins 3 & 2
Match Details

Match 5 – FINAL
K. Perry	Wins 3 & 2
H. Stenson
Match Details

Match 6 – FINAL
B. Weekley	Wins 4 & 2
O. Wilson
Match Details

Match 7 – FINAL
J. Holmes	Wins 2 & 1
S. Hansen
Match Details

Match 8 – FINAL
J. Furyk	Wins 2 & 1
M. Jiménez
Match Details

Match 9 – FINAL
S. Cink
G. McDowell	Wins 2 & 1
Match Details

Match 10 – FINAL
S. Stricker
I. Poulter	Wins 3 & 2
Match Details

Match 11 – FINAL
B. Curtis	Wins 2 & 1
L. Westwood
Match Details

Match 12 – FINAL
C. Campbell	Wins 2 & 1
P. Harrington
Match Details

As you can see, every American player beat every European player today, except for one halve.
Now, that’s hard to do unless you got some great players.

Azinger asserted repeatedly in the months leading up to the matches that experience was overrated, that what he preferred to have populating his team were hot hands and not wise heads. It was the reason he wanted to change the qualifying structure and to double his captain’s picks to four.

Split equally among rookies and veterans, the U.S. team clearly benefited from the infusion of new talent. The new blood posted a slightly better record, going 9-12-8 and scoring a collective 13 points. They went 4-1-1 in singles on Sunday, a record for singles wins by rookies. The U.S. veterans went 10-8-5 to contribute to 12½ points. They went 3-3 in singles.

Anthony Kim waxed Sergio Garcia in the first singles match to set the tone for the day, but he preceded that with infectious enthusiasm that seemed to light a fire under Phil Mickelson. Hunter Mahan won 3½ points and was the only player on either side to escape defeat playing five matches.

via rydercup

Tags: amp, casey, cink, cup, europeans, furyk, hansen, harrington, hot hands, infusion, j holmes, j rose, karlsson, mahan, match 2, match 4, proof, rookies, ryder, ryder cup, ryder cup results, ryder cup win, wins
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Camilo Villegas Iron Swing Analysis!

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Camil Villegas has one of the simplest swings as he never swings beyond 3/4 point and accelerates nicely through the ball while keeping his rhythm super-smooth.

Today we will analyze Camilo’s iron swing and just see how he is able to come up with wins such as the BMW Championships where he beat the top players of the world including Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, and others.

At takeaway, you can clearly tell that Camil’s clubface is shut (or closed). But this isn’t too big a problem as long as he gets it open at the top of his swing.

At half-way, you can tell that Camilo has nicely rotated his forearms so the clubface is square in relation to his swing plane. He’s slightly inside the plane but that’s not a big deal here.

At the top of his swing, Camilo looks very poised and everything stretched out nicely. Note that his hands and club are not actually back on-plane, a perfect backswing.

At impact, Camilo dips his head down a little (which most players do) but his impact is perfect.

After impact, Camilo looks pretty good.

At finish, Camilo does a great job of standing up straight.

Overall, I am impressed with this young Camilo’s swing as he never over-swings yet his retains his smooth rhythm.

What’s impressive is that this young man is capable of hitting every shot in the bag although he has a tendency to miss his drives to the right. (probably due to his short backswing when he’s tempo gets too quick) But with a swing like this, Camilo will never miss left, mostly to the right.

Most players who have short backswing tend to have a quick tempo but Camilo actually has a nice tempo. (For comparison, check out Tommy Armour III’s swing analysis)

Here’s Camil Villegas’ swing in action:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Tags: bmw, Camilo Villegas, comparison check, dips, forearms, job, Phil Mickelson, smooth rhythm, swing analysis, swing plane, swings, takeaway, tempo, tommy armour, Tommy Armour III, vijay singh
Posted in Camilo Villegas | 1 Comment »

BMW Championship and FedEx Cup Playoffs Recap by PGATOUR.com

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Here’s a good video on the re-cap of this week BMW Championships and the FedEx Cup standings.

Tags: bmw, bmw championship, fedex, fedex cup playoffs, hk, www youtube
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Camilo Villegas gets Down and Under at BMW Championships!

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Camilo Villegas gets Down and Under at BMW Championships!

Carmilo Villegas gets it down and under at BMW Championships and finishes at 15-under par, beating all of the top PGA Tour players by 2 strokes.

We think that most of Camilo Villegas’ skill this week came from his getting “down and under” to read putts as he did also finish #1 in putting.

Now in order for someone to achieve similar putting results, we suggest you go work out your arms and make sure to do some leg streching. (Without that, you might now be able to get “down and under”.

I was very surprised that Carmilo Villegas came through on the last day and made some solid putts and shots.

Congratulations on your first win Camilo Villegas, I think we have another young PGA star now.

Tags: bmw, bmw championship, Camilo Villegas, pga tour players, streching, strokes
Posted in Camilo Villegas | No Comments »