What's in the Bag?

Here's a look at the clubs I'll be gaming to start the year.

What my bag looks like on the outside, nothing fancy, but let's dig a little deeper.

The Line Up

We'll start with the big sticks an work our way down.

~ Driver: 9.5* Titleist 909D2 with a Graffaloy Pro Launch Red X Flex. (65g)

~ Fairway Wood: 13* Tour Edge Exotics XCG 3 wood (Stock Shaft)

~ Hybrid: 21* Titleist 909H (Stock Diamana Blue Shaft)

My Irons: Titleist 690.MB 4-PW

(Classic Look, Great Feel, very forgiving as far as blades go)

~ Rifle Project X 5.5 FLighted (.5'' long, 1* Upright)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey 50*, 56*, 60*

~ Rifle Project X 5.5 Flighted Shafts

The Flat Stick: Scotty Cameron Red X Mid Triple Black Sales

(Sales Sample, meaning there are usually less than 100 made)

(face on, notice the "sales sample" stamp on the heel)

(Down the line)

(sole)

I really like the Old School look of the Pom Pom Headcovers.

Most Importantly, This is how I mark my Titleist

2010 SBS Championship Picks

Formerly the Mercedes-Benz Championship, the SBS Championship kicks of the 2010 PGA Tour Season. This year's winners only tournament kicks off this Thursday, January 7 at The Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii. I look for Steve Stricker's strong play to carry over into 2010. Geoff Ogilvy is the defending champion and has a strong track record at this event. The rest of my picks are basically blind guesses and hunches. It's the first event of the year following a very abbreviated off season. Many of these guys are going to be knocking off rust this week.

Something to take note of this week will be the effect that the new groove rules will have on the players shot selections. I think that the effects will be minimal, but I'm sure the players will field numerous questions concerning the equipment change.

Outside the Ropes

This post may have been poorly timed, given the current state of Tiger Woods' dare I say...affairs (Yikes!...cheap joke at Tiger's expense) but I wanted to showcase a great book with a unique idea while attempting to avoid this level of unintentional comedy. Earlier this fall I finally got around to reading Follow the Roar. This book, written by Bob Smiley, tells the tail of Tiger's heroic albeit abbreviated 2008 season from the fan's perspective. Countless golf books have been written by instructors, journalists, historians, and living legends themselves. More often than not, these books are by shot hole by hole accounts that include every painstaking detail. This book couldn't be further from the norm. Smiley uses his sitcom writing background to convey those memorable moments as he views them through his para scope. Follow the Roar goes beyond just being another golf book that recalls a historically significant season, It also showcases the people and characters he meets along the way as his quest takes him half way around the world.

Below is a clip of a Golf Central Interview with Bob Smiley