U.S Open Championship / Saint-Omer Open
The eyes of the golfing world are once again focused stateside this week for the 109th playing of the U.S Open Championship at Bethpage State Park, New York. The Black Course at Bethpage hosts the event for the second time and the near 7500 yard, rain soaked monster offers up one of the most severe tests of golf anywhere on the planet. Our man on the ground at Bethpage for the European Titleist Tour Team is Jonathan “J-Lo” Loosemore, and he spent time on Tuesday following Titleist Ambassador Ross Fisher and Titleist Pro V1 loyalist Ian Poulter during their practice round. On course opinion certainly appears to justify the hype surrounding the difficulty of the course with both Ian and Ross reporting it to be brutally tough following their Tuesday practice round.
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With little golf having been played at the time of writing – following a first round rain delay – it’s far too early to tell which player will claim top spot come Sunday. However, it is not too early to tell which ball will claim the top spot at the event as, for the 61st consecutive year, the Titleist golf ball will again be the #1 ball at the U.S Open. This is further proof that more of the best players in the world continue to play a Titleist golf ball and, when faced with one of the world’s toughest examinations, the Titleist Pro V1 is the preferred ball of choice. In addition to taking the #1 ball streak to 61 years, hopes are also high for continuing the Pro V1 major championship winning streak. Titleist Pro V1 has already claimed the last three major titles for Padraig Harrington (2008 Open Championship & 2008 USPGA Championship) and Angel Cabrera (2009 Masters). With such a high percentage of the field teeing up a Pro V1 the chances of a fourth consecutive major at Bethpage look strong.
Elsewhere this week, the European Tour has moved to Lumbres, Northern France, for the Saint Omer Open; a co-sanctioned event with the European Challenge Tour. For those players that haven’t made it to Bethpage, the event provides a real opportunity to elevate their standing on the European Tour and boost their ranking in the inaugural Race to Dubai. The undulating par-71 layout at the Aa Saint Omer Golf Club features a number of elevation changes that result in many shots being played blind to the target. The premium this week will be on positioning the ball in the right areas of the course in order to gain the best angle of approach to the target. At just 6845 yards the course is modest in length by European Tour standards meaning that the driver will often take a back seat in favour of fairway metals, hybrids and long irons from the tee.
The Titleist Tour Support Vehicle (TTSV) was on site for the event which gave a number of the Challenge Tour players in the field an opportunity to utilise the facility. The guys certainly took this opportunity and our stock of Vokey wedge heads on board has taken a direct hit!! It was great to see the popularity of the Vokeys among the Challenge Tour guys and given access to a stock of tour issue options they simply flew out of the door.
When our technicians weren’t busy building Vokey wedges they also spent some time working with a couple of Titleist Ambassadors on their equipment set-up. Carlos Del Moral was one of the guys to check in with the Titleist team. It’s the first full season on the European Tour for Carlos having qualified through Q-school in 2008 and he is looking for a strong finish this week to help ensure a top 115 finish in the Race to Dubai and European Tour playing privileges for 2010. Del Moral popped into the TTSV to discuss his driver requirements as he felt that he was generating too much spin from his 8.5° 909D2. Hooking Carlos up to the Trackman system revealed perfect launch and spin numbers for on-centre hits but the occasional miss-hit resulted in a marked increase in spin and a stalling ball flight. The decision was taken to build Carlos a 7.5° version of his 909D2 which yielded the lower spin rate that he was looking for. He must have liked it as it’s straight in the bag for the event.
Carlos Del Moral
> Model: 909D2
> Loft: 7.5°
> Shaft: Mitsubishi Rayon Whiteboard 73 X-Flex
> Length: 45”
> Grip: Golf Pride Multi-Compound (White/Black) +1/64”
> Swingweight: D3
Titleist Ambassador Michael Curtain was another player to pay a visit to the TTSV. As with every European Tour professional, Michael hits a lot of balls and was concerned that the constant pounding of club into turf had adjusted the lofts and lies of his AP2 irons. Titleist Tour Technicians Karl Arthur and Phil Dimmock spent time checking the set against the specification kept on file and made the necessary adjustments. Michael headed back to the range and was much happier with his set-up. This is a real lesson for those of you that play a lot of golf. Clubs will move over time due to constant use so it’s essential to regularly check your loft and lies to ensure your clubs are set-up as intended.
Michael Curtain
> Model: AP2
> Composition: #3-9 iron
> Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100
> Length: +1/4” (#6 @ 37.75”)
> Lie: Std (#6 @ 62.5”)
> Loft: Std (#6 @ 31°)
> Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/32”)
The BMW International Open is the next event in the European Tour calendar and it will be a quick turnaround for a number of the U.S Open participants that are entered in the field. Titleist Ambassadors Rory McIlroy and Ross Fisher are just two of the players that will be jetting back across the Atlantic for the event and, whilst they are likely to be a little battle weary from their Bethpage experience, both are sure to be among the favourites for the event. The Titleist Team will be on hand with the TTSV and the Blog will have your weekly update this time next week. Enjoy the U.S Open!!
Add comment June 19th, 2009
