Masters 2016: Early Preview

The Masters. The Holy Grail of Golf. The grand daddy of them all. Whatever you may call it, The Masters at Augusta National is something in its own class, above the rest. Prestigious landscape, lush greens, the top players in the world, and celebrities alike is what you can find come early April in Augusta, Georgia. Since 1934, The Masters has been a special golf tournament. It is the first major of the year, and draws viewers that are not even fans of golf, but love watching the beauty of Augusta National Golf Club on television. There are many things that set The Masters apart from every other tournament in the world.

Over the last 80 years, many traditions have stemmed from the annual tournament held at Augusta. The most notable and recognizable is the green jacket that the winner takes home every year. Since 1949, the winner of the tournament is presented with a custom fit green sport jacket, signifying membership into one of the most exclusive fraternities in sports.  The previous years winner always presents the jacket to the current years winner with an award ceremony on the 18th green. The first green jacket was custom made by Brooks Brothers, and has since been made by multiple different clothiers. The infamous green jacket that all the players chase is shown below.

The Masters is home to the only PGA sanctioned par-3 tournament, another tradition unique to the tournament. The par-3 event is held the Wednesday before the start of tournament play, and features past winners, celebrities, guest caddies, and current players. The par-3 contest is a great way for players to get family involved in the events before a long weekend of grueling competition. 

Now for the actual PGA tournament... The Masters kicks of the PGA major season, and is one of the most coveted titles in professional golf. Names like Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, and Tiger Woods have all won the tournament on multiple occasions. This year, Jordan Spieth will be looking to repeat as champion and would be the first to do so since Nick Faldo in 1989-90. 

Rory McIlroy is looking to reclaim his spot as the #1 golfer in the world, and a Masters championship would start him in the right direction. McIlroy has had a bit of a shaky start to 2016, but has turned his game around in recent weeks. Look for him to be in the final pairing come Sunday. 

Phil Mickelson is notorious for being a threat at the top of the Masters leaderboard. He has won twice at Augusta, and is currently leading the PGA Tour in scoring average for 2016. With the long rough and fast greens, Phil's short game could find him in the final pairing as well come Masters Sunday. 

My long-shot pick to win the 2016 Masters is American born Brandt Snedecker. He is currently in first place in FedEx cup points and has been striking the ball extremely well this season. Brandt is known for his ball control and short game, which are two strengths necessary to win at Augusta. Watch for him on the leaderboard when the weekend rolls around. 

This years tournament will start Thursday, April 7th and conclude on Sunday, April 10th. All the action can be seen on ABC. Tune in for a historic and breathtaking tournament viewing experience. 

What's Hot in 2016

In November of each year, Golf Digest, the world's most popular golf magazine, puts out their highly anticipated "Hot List" issue, profiling the latest and greatest in golf equipment. Ranking everything from drivers to shoes with a gold, silver, bronze or honorable mention award, landing a spot on the Hot List is something every golf manufacturer strives for. Conveniently, this release of this issue is right before holiday shopping season, and can surely create some dreamy adult males with all of the brand spankin' new 2016 models (golf clubs, of course...).

Golf is a unique sport in which athletes usually have equipment that is from 5-8 different companies. Take basketball for example. NBA Nike athletes wear exclusively Nike gear from head to toe. Shoes, socks, sweat bands, under garments, etc. In golf however, many professionals have varying brands of irons, woods, putters, balls, shoes, wedges and clothing. This creates a huge market in business for golf equipment and a rare loyalty to multiple companies.

This week I want to cover some of the highlights from the Golf Digest 2016 Hot List issue. Some of my favorite brands such as Taylormade and PING landed golf medals in all four major categories; drivers, irons, wedges and putters. These two companies were the only two to earn such an honor.

First up, the all new Ping G-Series driver. The 460cc design of this driver claims to "fly through the air like a 3-wood" and have the consistency that PING drivers have long been known for. Personally, I have had nothing but PING drivers in my bag for the better part of the last decade. The consistency, feel, and confidence comes unmatched. Taylormade golf also had a strong showing in the drivers category with their M1 and M2 models. Taylormade has long been the leader in adjustable club head technology, and it shows with these two new drivers. The M1 features 2,500 different club head configurations, allowing maximum versatility to amateurs and pros alike. The M1 and M2 off feature a rather low center of gravity, allowing a better impact energy transfer and reducing ball spin. Below is a live swing of the Taylormade M1.

PING Golf also made a huge splash in the wedges category, taking home a gold medal for the first time in over 5 years. With the way technology and PGA restrictions have been influencing the golf wedge industry, it is quite the feat for PING to receive this honor. The new PING Glide series wedge features many technological advancements, 4 sole position options, 2 groove options, and comes in lofts 47-60 degrees. The Glide series is the first wedge to be finished with a water-resistant chrome that repels water, allowing for better friction when the grass is wet.

Lastly, lets take a look at where the money is; after all, the saying goes, "drive for show, putt for dough". PING placed twice in this category with the classic Anser 1966 and Cadence TR models. The goose-neck Anser design has made PING famous in the putter market for nearly 50 years. It is a classic design that does not over-do the putter nor under estimate the importance of the club. Both of these gold medal putters feature sweet spots with alternating grooves and provide consistent ball roll. The True Roll technology makes these putters extra forgiving, as shown in the video below. 

                                          

2016 is turning out to be a big year for golf equipment technology. As the young professionals keep firing away on the PGA Tour, more and more kids are picking up clubs to try the game for the first time. Loyalty to a brand can be developed at a young age, just like my loyalty to PING, Taylormade, FootJoy shoes and Titleist golf balls. The large variety and number new products in the golf equipment market provide a great future for the game of golf. 

Reference: Golf Digest Magazine. http://www.golfdigest.com/hot-list. 2016. Condé Nast Publications .

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8yNC1AWBMk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pNK8o9Xwbk