Can devastation in Japan create golf heroes at Doral?

After hearing that his family in Japan was okay, Ryo Ishikawa finished round one of the WGC-Cadillac Championship on Doral Golf Course at 6-under par and only a single stroke off the lead ..."his best round on the PGA Tour by three strokes," as stated by PGATour.com.

Ishikawa, unable to focus completely because of the tragedy in his homeland, still managed to fire off two birdies in his final six holes.

Although misfortune hit closer to home for Yuta Ikeda, he managed to finish his round with a 74. The only other Japanese golfer in the field, Hiroyuki Fujita has advanced into the second round with a 71.

The honor of being able represent Japan as competitive golfers, especially with the devastation of an 8.9 magnitude earthquake looming heavy in their minds, makes aspiring to PGA Tour status all the more appealing. Ishikawa stated that his position (as well as other athletes from Japan) is unique in that, "we can provide encouragement and hope for the people of Japan."



From national heroes to global emissaries, Ishikawa, Ikeda and Fujita are playing for more than just a golf trophy and FedEx points; they are helping to bring their people out of despair by using sport as a unifying agent to help heal a country damaged by the cruel hand of nature.


Golf for Beginners supports these golfers in their positive quest and prays for the safety of the people of Japan and Hawaii and all others devastated by this earthquake.


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Sabbatini wins Honda Classic with help from TaylorMade?

It is not necessarily because of the TaylorMade R11 white-faced driver that Rory Sabbatini won the PGA Tour Honda Classic but the new golf equipment surely made a positive impact on his game.

 

In addition to the TaylorMade R11 white driver with Adjustable Sole Plate Technology (or ASP), Sabbatini also used Tour Preferred MC forged irons, Burner SuperFast 2.0 TP 3-wood and the TaylorMade Ghost TM 770 tour putter. With this putter, Rory tied for second in the field in putts-per-round!

 

"I've never quite had as much confidence in a new putter as I have in this one. After picking it up last week and hitting a few putts with it, right away it just felt amazing to me. It was probably one of the smartest decisions I've ever made in my golf game," said Sabbatini after his win on the Champion Course at PGA National.

 

Sabbatini changed his golf equipment early in 2011 and has increasingly improved his performance in the last four events he played, including a tie for 5th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

 

With his win at the Honda Classic, Sabbatini has skyrocketed by fifty spots to number fifty-two in the World Golf Rankings, enters the top-ten (3rd place) of the FedEx Cup rankings and has also officially grabbed the final spot in the upcoming WGC-Cadillac Championship being held at Doral.

 

So is it the "arrow or the indian"?

 

TaylorMade's 2011 worldwide driver "wins" are at an astounding eight and with Luke Donald, Y.E. Yang and Camilo Villegas also in the field this week, the ninth victory for TaylorMade Golf could be just a swing away.

 

Here are the golf clubs which spurred Rory Sabbatini on to victory at the Honda Classic:

 

In Sabbatini’s Bag

R11 driver 10.5°  

Burner Superfast 2.0 TP fairway 13°

R9 fairway 19° 

Tour Preferred MC, 4-PW 

TP wedge with xFT ZTP 56° and 60°

TaylorMade Ghost TM-770 Tour putter

Penta TP ball

 

 

Image courtesy of TaylorMade Golf

 

Golf for Beginners does not endorse the TaylorMade brand of golf clubs.

 

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Is the Bear Trap the toughest finishing stretch in golf?

Although five golf courses make up the PGA National Resort and Spa, it is the 16th hole of the Champion course that provides this week's Kodak moment at the Honda Classic.

The 15th, 16th and 17th holes of The Champion golf course, or "The Bear Trap" are legendary and have been called "the real killer in golf" by Lee Trevino.


Why is this stretch of three golf holes called "The Bear Trap"?


Although Team Fazio originally designed the course, Jack Nicklaus redesigned it in 1981. Known as the "Golden Bear", Nicklaus left his "footprint" behind on what he considered to be these "Three Great Finishing Holes on the PGA Tour."



"That stretch is about precision," said Nicklaus. "That stretch is about guts."


It is the 16th hole that has been designated as the Kodak Challenge hole for the Honda Classic and is considered the toughest par-4 of all of PGA National's 90 holes. According to PGATour.com, on this dogleg right...


"Off the tee, everything slopes toward the water on the right, but a bunker was added to catch balls that roll too far right. Those who bail out left are faced with a 220-yard second shot over water, into the wind" and on to a two-tiered green.


With strong winds whipping on Thursday, double bogeys outnumbered birdies.


The hazards and the elements of nature that golfers will contend with this week make the PGA National Champion golf course a truly memorable yet difficult experience but, are these three golf holes, as USA Today has stated, the toughest test in golf?

Last week's winner of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, Luke Donald, called the Bear Trap finishing stretch, "one of the toughest we have all year" while Ernie Els claimed, "those are the holes that really sits in people's minds."


You decide.



Photo credit:  PGA National


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