WGT Golf News : harbour town

Harbour Town Hole 18 Preview on WGT

WGTwildcat — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Harbour Town is one of America's top ranked and iconic golf courses. The Harbour Town Golf Links golf course is the host of the PGA Tour's annual RBC Heritage golf tournament and is available as a free closest-to-the-hole online game on World Golf Tour.

Hole 18 is the signature hole of Harbour Town, featuring the famous red and white lighthouse in the background. It's typically one of the toughest holes at Harbour Town for PGA players, because of the challenging drive and approach shot. PGA pro Davis Love III has won the Heritage a record five times with the last in 2003.

You can try the same approach shot the pros face, free on World Golf Tour in this month's Harbour Town Tiered tournament. In this special tournament, you're competing against players in your same WGT tier, giving you a better chance of earning WGT Credits.

WGT Hole 18 Tip - Favor the right side of the green to avoid shots landing short or left and getting wet.

Enter Free Tournament

And if you haven't played WGT yet, join the millions of golfers playing virtual golf free online at wgt.com.

See Harbour Town Hole 17 Preview

Play Harbour Town during RBC Heritage

WGTwildcat — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:00:00 GMT

Play the same course the pros are playing, Harbour Town, site of this week's RBC Heritage event.

In this special golf tournament you will only compete against players in your same WGT tier, giving you better chances to earn more WGT Credits.

Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head is a challenging layout, and home of the iconic closing hole with the famous Harbour Town lighthouse.

Play Free Tournament

*This special tournament is open to WGT players in all countries, and runs now thru 4/30/13.

Harbour Town Hole 17 Preview on WGT

WGTwildcat — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:14:00 GMT

Harbour Town is one of America's top ranked and iconic golf courses. The Harbour Town Golf Links golf course is the host of the PGA Tour's annual RBC Heritage golf tournament and is also available as a free closest-to-the-hole online game on World Golf Tour.

Hole 17 is a challenging par 3 hole at Harbour Town. The long 191-yard approach shot is to a green surrounded by water and bunkers, so you need to make your shot accurate or you'll end up in the lagoon.

You can try the same tee shot on World Golf Tour in this month's Harbour Town Tiered tournament. In this special tournament, you're competing against players in your same WGT tier, giving you a better chance of earning WGT Credits.

WGT Hole 17 Tip - Pay attention to the wind speed and direction on your tee shot, as the head and crosswinds can easily carry shots into the water or bunkers.

Play Free Tournament

And if you haven't played WGT yet, join the millions of golfers playing virtual golf free online at wgt.com.

Merion Back 9, TaylorMade Lethal balls and more

WGTwildcat — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:00:00 GMT

WGT players can now enjoy the Back 9 at Merion Golf Club, new all-around TaylorMade Lethal Balls, increased payouts on Hole-in-One Challenges, and much more!

Merion Back 9 for Virtual U.S. Open

Following last month's release of the Front 9 Challenge, we're excited to give you your first look at the Back 9 on Merion Golf Club in a fun, closest-to-the hole challenge.

Play the new Merion Back 9 Challenge tournament for your chance at $500 USGAshop.com prizes.

And in May, the full 18 holes will be available for stroke play games as part of the 2013 Virtual U.S. Open Qualifier, hosted exclusively on World Golf Tour.

Bigger Hole-In-One Payouts

Hole-in-One Challenges just got bigger payouts and are also now available on all par-3 holes on World Golf Tour.

Based on WGT player feedback, the payouts have been increased for hole-in-ones, as well as landing the ball within 1 or 5 feet of the hole. Look for Hole-In-One Challenges on all ranked stroke play and closest-to-the-hole courses.

Improve Your Power Control with Shot Pal

Get the new WGT Shot Pal to help you improve the power control of your shots. The Shot Pal overlays on the swing meter when you're taking a shot, helping you select the precise power on every shot, similar to the popular WGT Putter Pal.

Shot Pal is available with 20 to 2,000 shots, starting at only 10 Credits, and makes a great gift for your WGT friends.

Make Your Game LETHAL

Get the new all-around top-performance ball from TaylorMade.

The TaylorMade Lethal virtual golf balls feature a unique balance of extra distance, spin, control and durability -- plus a slower WGT swing meter -- and unlock early at Level 7 for top players new to WGT.

New "Ballz-ier" Drivers

Join the pros and get the "ballz-ier" driver upgrades from TaylorMade with the RocketBallz Stage 2 clubs, featuring better performance and longer-ier distance, including...

Rocketballz Stage 2 Driver unlocks at Level 20 and Level 40

Is It Time Tour Bids Aloha To Hawaii?

WGTwildcat — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:47:00 GMT

By Mike Purkey for GlobalGolfPost

Nobody’s saying it’s not paradise because it is, but stunning scenery aside, Hawaii has become irrelevant on the PGA Tour. Both island tournaments – the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open in Hawaii – are the unwitting and unfortunate victims of the new Tour schedule.

It has been hard enough – if not downright impossible – in recent years to attract or even shamelessly lure the game’s stars to Hawaii when the Aloha Swing kicked off the Tour season. But when the 2014 season comes along (which starts in October), it will be nigh on impossible to get the big names to fly across the Pacific, no matter what the enticements.

In fact, the Tournament of Champions might as well fall off the schedule, especially if the title sponsor fails to renew its contract. Nothing against Hyundai, it makes a great car (I own one), but the Korean auto manufacturer couldn't possibly have gotten anywhere close to its money’s worth at this year’s event at Kapalua.

Even if Hyundai uses the event to entertain top dealers and customers, the ungodly weather two weeks ago dumped the whole deal, mai tais and all, into the ocean. Even the pro-am was a disaster. Some of the pro-am groups, which were playing in brutish wind and sideways blowing rain, asked to quit their rounds after nine holes.

The Tour tried twice to send the 30 players out in the 40 mph wind, not to uphold the integrity of the competition but because the title sponsor needed a show. Hyundai’s television ads that it paid perfectly good money for weren't doing the company any good when all that was shown on the telecast was the hour or so that some of the field was on the course – over and over and over. That clicking sound you heard was the hundreds of thousands of remotes leaving the golf to switch to, well, anything else.

The PGA Tour is the only major sports league without the ability to drop the hammer and compel its stars to play in its all-star game, which the Tournament of Champions essentially is. Players contend they are independent contractors and besides, it’s a tough trip just to play in one tournament (without appearance fees).

The Sony Open in Hawaii is in much the same boat. It’s the first full-field event of the year and has been the traditional coming-out party for the Tour’s rookies and veterans who need a quick start against not-the-strongest-field you've ever seen.

But in 2013-14, it will be the eighth event on the schedule, coming after about a seven-week break between the sixth event – in Mexico – and the Tournament of Champions the first week in January. By that time, the rookies will already have four or five starts under their belts because none of the stars are going to play in October at the Frys.com and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (minus Justin Timberlake) and the like.

All of which makes Hawaii a much tougher sell. For one thing, if you fly commercial to Hawaii from Orlando, it takes about 15 hours, including layovers, to get there and about 20 hours or more to get back. The rookies and those down the food chain make that trip now because they need the starts and they aren't guaranteed much on the West Coast.

It is especially important for the rookies to get off to a fast start in 2013. First-year players Russell Henley and Scott Langley were 1-2 on the leaderboard after 36 holes of the Sony Open. Because of the truncated schedule, there will be no Fall Finish for rookies and others on the low end of the money list to make up ground in order to finish in the top 125.

Essentially, for those who don’t make the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the season lasts from now through the middle of August. That’s not much time and there won’t be that many opportunities since the big-name players and Tour veterans will be taking up most of the spots through the busy spring and summer.

But next year (this year), players will get opportunities early in the season to get some starts. It’s going to be increasingly difficult to convince much of anybody to make the Hawaii trip, especially those who don’t have to.

Besides, the Plantation Course at Kapalua and Waialae Country Club in Honolulu aren't the greatest tracks in the world. Kapalua is big and touristy and while Waialae is venerable, having been built in 1927 and designed by Seth Raynor, it’s lat and uninspiring and the Tour players often shoot the grass off the place.

One prominent Golf Channel announcer had the audacity to mention Waialae in the same sentence as Riviera, Colonial and Harbour Town. That’s the low hyperbole in the clubhouse thus far this season.

If officials at Hyundai and Sony aren't livid about the change in schedule, they should be. Sony has been way more than loyal to the PGA Tour and Hyundai signed on when the economic times at the Tour were at or near the worst. It’s more than a shame they've been treated this way.

Sadly, in some places, loyalty doesn't cut both ways.

PHOTO: Getty Images

Chance to win 50,000 WGT Credits

WGTwildcat — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Play the WGT Holiday Hole-In-One Challenge and if you get a hole-in-one on Challenge Hole #7, you'll win 50,000 WGT Credits, enough to last a lifetime!

You'll probably want to practice on Harbour Town first, and when you're feeling ready, enter this single-play virtual golf tournament and try your luck on Challenge Hole #7, a 191 yard par-3 with an inviting pin location.

This tournament is limited to the first 10,000 entries and costs 50 WGT Credits to enter. Each eligible player who gets a hole-in-one on #7 will win 50,000 WGT Credits, see tournament rules for details and eligibility for your country and U.S. state.

Play Hole-In-One Tournament

*WGT Holiday Hole-In-One Challenge runs from 12/19/12 thru 12/31/12, and is limited to the first 10,000 players to enter. Winners notified and prizes awarded by 1/4/13. See tournament rules for details and eligibility.

Featured Golf Course - WGT Best-Of Water

WGTwildcat — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:12:00 GMT

Our featured golf course on World Golf Tour this month is actually a lot of great courses. It's the "Best Of Water" course, a virtual mash-up of some of the best water golf shots on WGT. Try your luck on this fun closest-to-the hole course!

WGT Best Of Water Course

1 - Celtic Manor #3, 171 yard tee shot with water very tight on the left

2 - Bali Hai #6, 176 yard tee shot to an island green

3 - Wolf Creek #17, 169 yard tee shot over water

4 - Congressional #3, 173 yard challenging second shot on Par 5 with water to the right

5 - Kiawah Ocean #17, 184 yard tee shot, all water carry

6 - Bethpage Black #8, 183 yard downhill tee shot over a lake

7 - Edgewood Tahoe #18, 142 yard approach shot over small lake with view of Lake Tahoe

8 - Harbour Town #14, 169 yard tee shot over large creek

9 - Wolf Creek #8, 221 yard extreme downhill tee shot to green surrounded by creek

Play Free Tournament

If you're not already a member of WGT, sign up free here.

WGT GOLF UPDATE: Pettersson Wins RBC Heritage by Five Strokes

WGTwildcat — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:36:00 GMT

At the RBC Heritage tournament this past weekend at Harbour Town Golf Links, Carl Pettersson fired a 69 for -2 in Sunday's final round, and finished the tournament at -14 to win his fifth PGA Tour title. Pettersson also tied countryman Jesper Parnevik for most ever wins on tour by a Swedish player.

During the tournament, Pettersson birdied three of the first five holes, opening with a birdie and adding two more on the par-3 #4 and par-5 #5 holes. Just behind Pettersson was Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion, who was the only rival to make a run for the tournament on Sunday. Johnson answered a bogey at the par-3 #7 hole with a birdie at nine, but took another bogey at #10. A birdie at the par-5 #15 allowed Johnson to pull within three strokes of Pettersson, but Johnson bogeyed the #16 and #18 holes while Pettersson parred #17 and #18 to complete the victory five strokes ahead. Johnson posted a 70 in the final round to finish -9, while Colt Knost's chances for his first PGA Tour title fell apart with 74 for a -8 for the tournament.

Top-ranked Luke Donald needed to finish eighth or better to retain his world ranking, but tied for 37th and will fall behind Rory McIlroy in the official world golf ranking. McIlroy initially secured the #1 ranking in March at the 2012 PGA Honda Classic, where he shot a -12 to win the tournament by two strokes over Tiger Woods.

Final PGA Leaderboard

Photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Special Offer on Callaway Golf Balls

wgtmustang — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:09:00 GMT

Get 3 free Callaway virtual golf balls when you buy $10 or more WGT Credits.

These Callaway virtual golf balls are your free with this special offer. Buy credits as often as you want during the Heritage Tournament now thru Sunday 4/15.

Get Free Callaway Balls

Callaway's Tour i(z) Vapor Balls are the longest Callaway virtual golf balls giving you more distance on your shots in the tournament. Use your WGT Credits to upgrade your virtual equipment, play in Ready-Go's and paid tournaments, or compete against your friends for credits in Matchplay Challenges, Skins Challenges and the latest Blitz Challenge games.

*Offer available only to WGT players buying $10 or more WGT Credits 4/12/12-4/15/12, receive 3 free Callaway's Tour i(z) Vapor Ball virtual golf balls.

Free Tournament on Harbour Town During Heritage Weekend

wgtmustang — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:02:00 GMT

WGT players can tee it up during the Heritage Tournament on WGT's virtual Harbour Town golf course from Thursday 4/12 thru Sunday 4/15.

Play Free Tournament on Harbour Town

This 9 hole closest-to-the-hole tournament is unlimited play, so try as many times as you want for your best score. The Top 70 scores split an expanded pot of 50,000 WGT Credits!

While you're playing the Harbour Town online tournament this weekend, you can also catch the RBC Heritage Tournament live on television. Now in it's 44th year on the PGA Tour, the Heritage kicks off today in South Carolina. There's just something about The Heritage and Harbour Town and iconic lighthouse…