Alstom Open de France
July 2nd, 2010
It’s ‘Bonjour’ from beautiful Paris this week as the European Tour rolls into the French capital for the Alstom Open de France. The event comes from Le Golf National on the outskirts of Paris, a course which is very highly rated amongst the players and always attracts a stellar field year after year. The course is bidding to become the host venue to the 2018 Ryder Cup and these designs on staging golf’s premier event only serve to illustrate just how good the golf course really is. The 7300 yard par 71 layout is about as close as you’ll get to an inland links course for the first 14 holes, but the closing four holes bring about a change in character with a finishing stretch based on a stadium design. This ensures perfect viewing for the always strong Parisian crowds and a daunting finish for any player in contention on Sunday.
Click here to view the slideshow
Before moving on to discuss the activity at the Open de France we must first reflect on the result at last week’s BMW International Open in Munich where Englishman David Horsey claimed his maiden European Tour title. David is in his third full year as a professional following a successful amateur career and only his second season of European Tour golf having previously graduated as the Challenge Tour’s #1 player in 2008. David has placed his trust in a Titleist golf ball throughout his career to date and his first European Tour success comes with the Titleist Pro V1x in play. Congratulations to David from all at Titleist, we hope this will be the first of many.
The story of the week from the Titleist Tour Team is the arrival of the new Titleist 910 drivers on the European Tour. Titleist will begin seeding this stunning new driver product around the globe over the coming weeks. USPGA Tour seeding has started in earnest at this week’s AT&T National with 15 players ‘gaming’ one of the new 910 drivers on it’s first week out, including the likes of Rickie Fowler and Davis Love III. New 910 drivers have also made an appearance at this week’s Open de France in the bags of players who made the trip from the United States for the event. There are a couple of sneak peak images of a new 910D3 driver in this weeks slide show and rest assured that there will be plenty more news regarding this exciting new product in the coming weeks. Next week at the Barclays Scottish Open the Titleist Tour Team will begin seeding on the European Tour. Stock of 910 driver heads has already arrived at the European Tour workshop at Titleist HQ in England and the Titleist Tour Support Vehicle (TTSV) will be fully equipped for a week of seeding at Loch Lomond. The players who saw the 910 drivers this week were clambering to test out the new product and are queuing up to get their hands on it next week in Scotland. Exciting times ahead!!!
Aside from the buzz surrounding the new 910, a couple of the players were keen to place orders for new Vokey wedges ahead of The Open Championship later this month. First through the door of the TTSV was Titleist Ambassador Tano Goya. Since qualifying for his first ever Open Championship, Tano has been struggling to contain his anticipation and is clearly excited about the prospect of fulfilling a life long dream. Tano placed his order for a new set of Vokey Spin Milled C-C wedges to ensure that his grooves are fresh for the challenge of St Andrews’ famous Old Course.
Model: Tour Chrome Vokey Spin Milled C-C
Loft: 52.08, 56.10 & 60 (T-Grind)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S200
Length: Standard
Lie: Standard (64°)
Grips: Golf Pride Multi-Compound Black/Aqua .600 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweights: 52.08 @ D3, 56.10 and 60-T @ D5
Stamping: TANO (Light Blue and White Paint Fill)
Soren Hansen was the next player to order a new Vokey wedge although his visit to the TTSV also had an ulterior motive. Soren stepped aboard to enquire about the availability of the 910 driver having had the opportunity to hit the product earlier in the year at Titleist’s Oceanside test facility in California. He was so impressed with the performance that he was actually trying to persuade the Titleist Technicians at Oceanside to let him take away the 910 prototype!!! Ever since that moment Soren has been eagerly anticipating the arrival of 910 on the European Tour and will be one of the first Titleist Ambassadors to receive the new driver in Scotland next week. We can’t wait to see the smile on his face when he gets his hands on the 910 once again but, for this week at least, Soren had to settle for a new Vokey wedge and a loft and lie check for his irons. Good things come to those who wait Soren…..we promise!!!
Model: Vokey Spin Milled C-C (Raw Finish)
Loft: 60 (T-Grind)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Length: +1/4” (35.25”)
Lie: Standard (64°)
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Ribbed (Std)
Swingweight: D5
As mentioned, next week takes us to the tranquil and serene Loch Lomond for the Barclays Scottish Open. It’s the final event on the European Tour before the players head to St Andrews for the 139th Open Championship and excitement will no doubt be building for the trip to the home of golf. The sight of the new 910 drivers at this week’s Open de France also has the players excited and has really wetted their appetite to test the new drivers. The Titleist team are going to have one of the busiest weeks on record as these players get their first opportunity to test Titleist 910. Be sure to follow the Titleist Tour Team at Loch Lomond via the Titleist Twitter page and the Blog will be back with more from the Barclays Scottish Open at the same time next week.
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