Hole 16 at Augusta National. Photo courtesy of HookedOnGolfBlog.com[/caption]
The Masters is finally here! This is the most exciting week in golf every year. The Masters is where the average, non-golfers finally express interest in golf. This is where the average fan will tune in to watch golf for the first time of the year.
Why is the Masters so great?
You have to look at the golf course to answer this question. All time greatest amateur golfer Bobby Jones teamed up with Alister Mackenzie, the most famous British golf architect of the time, to build Augusta National Golf Club in 1931. The course lies on a very hilly track of land which used to be a nursery, thus all the beautiful flowers and trees.
Jone's design of the course was very well thought out and sought to test the skills of the players in every aspect of the game. The doglegs of the par-4's and par-5's require players to be able to curve the ball both directions. The approaches from the fairways promote certain ball flights, yet the greens require something different. The greens are small, fast and undulating.
Every aspect of a players game is tested at Augusta National, but the course is not setup like a US Open. The course is designed to promote birdies and lower scores. It is setup to promote a run on the back nine on Sunday.
Frogger Players To Watch
Obviously Tiger Woods is the favorite to win this year, despite the fact that he has not won a major championship in about five years (2008 US Open). Woods is the only player on the PGA Tour with multiple wins, three. Tiger comes in with some great momentum.
Rory McIlory has struggled this year. Many suspect that is because of his equipment switch to Nike from Titleist. Rory has been clear that his issues are in his swing and not his equipment. McIlory added last week's Valero Texas Open to his schedule at the last minute to help tune up for the Masters. He ended up finishing 2nd. Is he ready now? Let's talk on the weekend.
Brandt Snedeker has been the best player in golf over the last year or so, barring the last couple of months where one would argue that distinction belongs to Tiger. "Sneds" won the $10 million FedEx Cup last year and was leading it this year until Tiger took the lead. Snedeker is a great putter and it takes great putting to win at Augusta.
Phil Mickelson is bringing an interesting setup into the Masters. He has put a club called "Phrankenwood" into his bag. It is essentially an 11 degree 3-wood with a driver shaft. In fact, his setup basically has three 3-woods in the bag.
Who else? There are a myriad of players who could win. Will players like Luke Donald or Lee Westwood finally break through and record their first major championship? Will a "dark horse" win like Zach Johnson or Charl Schwartzel?
PGA Preview: 2013 Masters
[caption id="attachment_3054" align="alignright" width="300"] Hole 16 at Augusta National. Photo courtesy of HookedOnGolfBlog.com[/caption]
The Masters is finally here! This is the most exciting week in golf every year. The Masters is where the average, non-golfers finally express interest in golf. This is where the average fan will tune in to watch golf for the first time of the year.
Why is the Masters so great?
You have to look at the golf course to answer this question. All time greatest amateur golfer Bobby Jones teamed up with Alister Mackenzie, the most famous British golf architect of the time, to build Augusta National Golf Club in 1931. The course lies on a very hilly track of land which used to be a nursery, thus all the beautiful flowers and trees.
Jone's design of the course was very well thought out and sought to test the skills of the players in every aspect of the game. The doglegs of the par-4's and par-5's require players to be able to curve the ball both directions. The approaches from the fairways promote certain ball flights, yet the greens require something different. The greens are small, fast and undulating.
Every aspect of a players game is tested at Augusta National, but the course is not setup like a US Open. The course is designed to promote birdies and lower scores. It is setup to promote a run on the back nine on Sunday.
Frogger Players To Watch
Obviously Tiger Woods is the favorite to win this year, despite the fact that he has not won a major championship in about five years (2008 US Open). Woods is the only player on the PGA Tour with multiple wins, three. Tiger comes in with some great momentum.
Rory McIlory has struggled this year. Many suspect that is because of his equipment switch to Nike from Titleist. Rory has been clear that his issues are in his swing and not his equipment. McIlory added last week's Valero Texas Open to his schedule at the last minute to help tune up for the Masters. He ended up finishing 2nd. Is he ready now? Let's talk on the weekend.
Brandt Snedeker has been the best player in golf over the last year or so, barring the last couple of months where one would argue that distinction belongs to Tiger. "Sneds" won the $10 million FedEx Cup last year and was leading it this year until Tiger took the lead. Snedeker is a great putter and it takes great putting to win at Augusta.
Phil Mickelson is bringing an interesting setup into the Masters. He has put a club called "Phrankenwood" into his bag. It is essentially an 11 degree 3-wood with a driver shaft. In fact, his setup basically has three 3-woods in the bag.
Who else? There are a myriad of players who could win. Will players like Luke Donald or Lee Westwood finally break through and record their first major championship? Will a "dark horse" win like Zach Johnson or Charl Schwartzel?
Hole 16 at Augusta National. Photo courtesy of HookedOnGolfBlog.com[/caption]
The Masters is finally here! This is the most exciting week in golf every year. The Masters is where the average, non-golfers finally express interest in golf. This is where the average fan will tune in to watch golf for the first time of the year.
Why is the Masters so great?
You have to look at the golf course to answer this question. All time greatest amateur golfer Bobby Jones teamed up with Alister Mackenzie, the most famous British golf architect of the time, to build Augusta National Golf Club in 1931. The course lies on a very hilly track of land which used to be a nursery, thus all the beautiful flowers and trees.
Jone's design of the course was very well thought out and sought to test the skills of the players in every aspect of the game. The doglegs of the par-4's and par-5's require players to be able to curve the ball both directions. The approaches from the fairways promote certain ball flights, yet the greens require something different. The greens are small, fast and undulating.
Every aspect of a players game is tested at Augusta National, but the course is not setup like a US Open. The course is designed to promote birdies and lower scores. It is setup to promote a run on the back nine on Sunday.
Frogger Players To Watch
Obviously Tiger Woods is the favorite to win this year, despite the fact that he has not won a major championship in about five years (2008 US Open). Woods is the only player on the PGA Tour with multiple wins, three. Tiger comes in with some great momentum.
Rory McIlory has struggled this year. Many suspect that is because of his equipment switch to Nike from Titleist. Rory has been clear that his issues are in his swing and not his equipment. McIlory added last week's Valero Texas Open to his schedule at the last minute to help tune up for the Masters. He ended up finishing 2nd. Is he ready now? Let's talk on the weekend.
Brandt Snedeker has been the best player in golf over the last year or so, barring the last couple of months where one would argue that distinction belongs to Tiger. "Sneds" won the $10 million FedEx Cup last year and was leading it this year until Tiger took the lead. Snedeker is a great putter and it takes great putting to win at Augusta.
Phil Mickelson is bringing an interesting setup into the Masters. He has put a club called "Phrankenwood" into his bag. It is essentially an 11 degree 3-wood with a driver shaft. In fact, his setup basically has three 3-woods in the bag.
Who else? There are a myriad of players who could win. Will players like Luke Donald or Lee Westwood finally break through and record their first major championship? Will a "dark horse" win like Zach Johnson or Charl Schwartzel?
