The opening round at the Colorado Golf Club brought more wind to the field of players. It seemed that the wind picked up a little bit during the day, however, it was windy all day.
I tried to make my way around the entire course to see as many groups as possible. I think I did that pretty well and saw most of the morning and early afternoon tee-times. I took a little break to sit in on Berhard Langer’s post round press conference. Mr. Langer shot a 6 under 66 for a share of the lead after the first round. The highlight of his round was an Eagle 2 on the par 4, 14th hole. He hit a 3-iron off the tee leaving him about 103 yards to the pin. He hit a full sand wedge and backed the ball up…right into the cup! He made 6 other birdies, and only had 26 putts on the day for an impressive round, especially with the howling wind.
The largest crowd was following Fred Couples, Fred Funk and Bernhard Langer. The second largest following was the group of Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw and Michael Allen. Ben Crenshaw is credited as the course co-designer and Michael Allen is the defending Senior PGA Champ.
It was a lot of fun watching so many groups today. I look forward to the rest of the tournament.
Today was my first day visiting the 2010 Senior PGA Championship at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker, CO. I have lived in the Denver Metro area for my entire life and really have never visited the Parker area. The club is situated in a pretty majestic area. The views are amazing. As patrons got off the bus that escorts visitors from the parking lots to the to the facility, they are welcomed by this sign:
As I entered the gates, the first view you see is the driving range, the putting green and the chipping green. It’s pretty cool that players are practicing so close to the patrons. All of the players that were practicing were very friendly, signing autographs and chatting with the fans. The big topic of the day, as it has been for the previous two days, has been the wind. It was very, very windy out there this afternoon.
My next stop was the PGA Media Center where I had to pick up my media credentials.
I got there just in time for the Senior PGA Championship news conference, where the CEO of the PGA of America (Joe Steranka) announced that KitchenAid will be the title sponsor for the Senior PGA Championship for 2011-2014. This announcement drew quite a few questions from the press that was in the room. For the most part, it didn’t make sense why KitchenAid would sponsor the Senior PGA Championship. The respose from the PGA as well as KitchenAid is that both organizations have the same value system and it seemed to be a natural fit. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but KitchenAid is putting up a whole lot of money and the PGA probably isn’t in a place to turn it down. They annoucned that the 2012 and 2014 Senior PGA Championships will be held at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan. This is a brand new course designed by Jack Nicklaus and is having their grand opening on August 10, 2010.
Tee times and groupings have been released for the Senior PGA Championship being held next week at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker, CO. Rounds 1 & 2 (Thursday & Friday respectfully), groups will be teeing off on both Hole 1 and Hole 10. Players who tee off on Hole 1 on Thursday will be teeing of on Hole 10 on Friday and vise versa. Groups will be playing together for both rounds 1 & 2.
The most notable group is the big named threesome of Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer and Fred Funk. Another notable group is Paul Azinger, Peter Jacobsen and Larry Nelson.
Colorado Golf Club has now been open for over four years, but still has a problem. The clubhouse has yet to be finished because of insufficient funds. And they plan to hold the Senior PGA Championship there in a week? There has been a large tent to
serve as the clubhouse for the last few years. It is a private course, where it is an invitation only membership. Currently they have 377 members, no wonder they don’t have money to pay for the rest of the clubhouse. Rumors have it that the PGA was debating whether or not to host the Championship at an unfinished course. It will still be hosted at Colorado Golf Club in a week, but who knows what could happen to the course in the next few years. This elite golf course may need to broaden their horizons and lower their membership fees to fit with the economy.
Its about that time now where we start thinking about what equipment will be used this year, from Drivers, to irons, to gloves, to balls and possibly to SkyCaddies. Denver Golf Reviews will provide you with some information about golf balls worth the money.
To start off, for the cheap golfers here is a list of the Top 5 golf ball, priced at $20 per dozen:
1. Callaway Big Bertha Diablo- it is the softest of any Callaway model.
2. Noodle+ Easy Distance- Great for performance and feel!
3. Pinnacle Dimension- A soft feel that limits dispersion.
4. Srixon Soft Feel- Obviously a soft feel but also produces a higher flight.
5. Top Flite Gamer V2- Reduces driver spin and optimizes carry.
For those average golfers who don’t mind spending a little more her are the Top 5, priced from $21-$35:
1. Bridgestone E6- Reduces sidespin from hooks and slices but also has a great soft feel.
2. Nike One Vapor Speed- Promotes more ball speed and controls sidespin.
3. Srixon Trispeed Tour- Improves spin on full shots and chips.
4. Taylormade TP Black LDP- Improves distance on low spinning tee shots.
5. Titleist NXT Tour- Soft feel, durable, and improved aerodynamics.
Last on our Top 5 list are the dozens priced over $35:
1. Bridgestone B330/ S/ RX/ RXS- Innovation and performance are highly rated with any of these models.
2. Callaway i(s)- soft feel and attempts to offset the spin-reducing effect of the new groove rule.
3. Taylormade Penta TP- Feel, performance and innovation rank high for this golf ball.
4. Titleist Pro V1(X)- Improved ball speed, demand and performance are all improved in this year’s model.
5. Nike One Tour/Tour D- Improved velocity, feel on short iron and wedges are improved.
Now it is your time to go out and figure out the ball you want to play this next year!
