Since as long as I could remember, I was always under the assumption that the Jai Alai ball was the fastest ball in sports. This was until I recently stumbled upon this video from Sports Science, a favorite show of mine. Apparently, the golf ball has recently eclipsed the Jai Alai ball for the fastest ball in sports, however, this is not the same ball you and I have been hitting. The record goes to Jason Zubek, who also holds the record for longest drive (somewhere around 460 yards). His club speed is nearly twice that of a normal golfer and is absolutely astounding. Enjoy the video and remember swinging too hard can cause injury but more importantly cause you tee shots to slice like you wouldn’t believe. Leave these type of things to the professionals.
Although this weekend may be relatively light, as most pros take the week off after the PGA Championship, next weekend looks to be more exciting that ever before. In 2007 The Barclays was moved from June to the slot it current holds to make way for golf’s new FedEx Cup, which this tournament is the first event of. The FedEx Cup can be compared to the playoffs is other sports but is most similar to the NASCAR points race. The Barclays took over sponsorship from the old Westchester Classic, yet the sponsors intend to keep the event in the New York/New Jersey area to continue tradition. Last year it was held at the Ridgewood Country Club in Ridgewood, NJ and this year the tournament moves south down the Jersey Turnpike to Liberty National in Jersey City.
There has been some big news as of late, though. For the first time in the FedEx Cup’s existence, Tiger Woods will attend and play. Previous years Tiger has either refused to play, or was injured and unable to play. This is actually Tiger’s first non-major tournament in the New York area since the 2003 Buick Classic at Westchester CC. This is a great move for Tiger to help endorse golf’s playoff system, which still needs some work as was proof in 2007 (Tiger Woods skipped the first two events and still won the FedEx Cup by winning the last two, proving that the first two were unnecessary). Now that Tiger has not won any majors, he looks as if he is out to prove his number one ranking.
Many wonder where the game of golf started in the US. It is common knowledge that the game was invented in Scotland somewhere near the oldest official golf course in the world, St. Andrews, but many do not know the history after that. The United States was fairly late in adopting places to play the game, as Oakhurst Links in West Virginia became the first place to hold an official tournament in 1884. But wait, wasn’t The Country Club in Brookline (traditionally known as the oldest country club in the US)established in 1882? That is correct, however, golfing was not introduced to the club until 1893 some nine years after Oakhurst. This course, originally designed as a nine hole backyard course was the first, yet it fell into disrepair and eventually ceased to be used by the mid twentieth century.
In 1994, the course was reopened to the public and has since been added to the National Register of Historic Places. What makes Oakhurst Links so special is the way the game is played. Instead of using fancy new clubs and using the technology of the past one hundred or so years, the game is transported back to the way it was in the 1880s. Players play with wooden clubs and old gutta-percha balls. Sheep graze in the fairway and the tees are made of sand (oh the irony). Although not a place where the US Open will ever be held, Oakhurst has a special game that protects the history of a great and wonderful sport.
Now, the course is up for sale. The previous owner has decided that he has to retire and is selling the course and the museum for $4.5 million. What a bargain! So now if you have a spare million dollars or so laying around, get your Sunday foursome together and buy yourselves the golf course that started it all.
From humble beginnings, no one could see Y.E. Yang becoming a professional golfer, let alone leave his home town in South Korea. The son of a farmer, Yang was often pressured into joining the family farm and forget his time consuming hobby of golf. However, Yang never gave up his dream of playing on the world’s highest competition, the PGA tour, even though he started playing the game at the age of 19. Now at 37 years old, Yang has become the first Asian born player to win a major championship and has given a new sense of pride to both the nation of South Korea and the continent of Asia as a whole.
After all, golf was invented in Scotland and had only become a worldwide phenomenon relatively recently for many nations outside of North America and Europe. Many Asian nations, like South Korea and Japan are relatively new to the sport, only being introduced to it by foreign soldiers stationed in their countries in the mid 20th century. Nowadays, golf has become an obsession for much of the Asian continent and Y.E. Yang breathes a fresh breath of air into a game that was predominantly controlled by Americans and Europeans. Now there is a growing number of Asian golfers on the tour (K.J. Choi, Anthony Kim, Ryo Ishikawa to name a couple) and who knows what the future holds.
Since Se Ri Pak’s victory at the 1998 Women’s US Open, Asian golfers have been slowly climbing the rankings and getting a good amount of respect for the way they play the game. Finally there is a face of a continent for the men’s game. That is the media proclaimed ‘Tiger Killer’, Y.E. Yang.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard that Tiger Woods lost the PGA Championship to first time major champ, Y.E. Yang. Yang became the first person of Asian descent to win a major championship and did so in impressive fashion, coming back to beat Tiger, who prior to Sunday, had won 14 of 14 majors when leading through 54 holes. This loss is a huge setback to Woods, who had been looking to capture his first major of the year and prove to the doubters that his injury was in the past. Well, even though Tiger’s leg may be better, his mental game still needs a boost, at least in big tournaments like this.
The bigger story is Yang’s impressive composure in the face of adversity. Knowing that history was against him, Yang was able to chip in from more than 60 feet away for an eagle on the 14th and the outright lead. After this, all he had to do was maintain, something that Tiger was unable to do. Yang held his own down the stretch and played a consistent back nine that culminated with a birdie on the 18th and a definitive win against the world’s top player.
As disappointing as this stretch of holes was for Tiger, it was nothing compared to Padraig Harrington’s disastrous antics that once again left him out of contention. The 2008 champion had a lot to prove after his fall-apart last week at Firestone Country Club, where he dropped out of the lead on the 16th hole after controlling the tournament for most of the weekend. Similarly, Paddy had a horrendous 8 on the par three eighth hole that sunk his chances once again. Maybe next time Padraig.
So after a strong weekend, the final major of the year is over. Now all we have to look forward to is the still fledgling FedEx Cup that is trying its best to become relevant. Personally, the only things that matter to most golfers are the four majors, but maybe in time the Cup can become something that players will want just as much as a green jacket or a claret jug. Look for first round action beginning August 25 in the great state of New Jersey at the Barclays.
