WGT Golf News

The USGA has one of the most comprehensive collections of golf photography, with more than 500,000 images and more than 15,000 images added every year. Browse the collection of historic and modern-day images and pick one up today! There is also a gallery of free wallpapers that you can download.

By Ryan Ballengee

Srixon Golf presents an interesting new product for 2010. It's a bit of a throwback, though. Now, reintroducing the yellow golf ball!

This time, though, Srixon is pushing a yellow ball with some science behind it that suggests that the colored ball may actually help you play better.

Srixon sent out a press release a few days ago introducing the ball and explaining the technology.

"By tapping into the psychology of hitting each shot and the visualization and calming effect at address, the Z-STAR"! and Z-STAR"! X Tour Yellow golf balls incorporate the science of visual perception with the psychology of color effect on the human brain."

"Science has proven that yellow is the most visible color in the visual spectrum and psychology has correlated green with calming and stress relief; therefore Srixon has combined the two colors based on these findings to tap into the player's mind and expand the benefits of playing a better ball."

It kind of makes sense. A few years ago, Nike Golf came out with their Maxsight athletic contact lenses with specific hues for sporting performance. The color that they chose for golf was grey-green. They were designed to help with reading greens.

The lesson of the story is that Paula Creamer may have incidentally been onto something when she chose to play final rounds with a pink ball. She may love the color—and it is part of her nickname—but it may also have a positive psychological impact, too.

Lucas Glover outlasted the streaky Ricky Barnes and held off former major champions and sentimental favorites Phil Mickelson and David Duval to win the 2009 U.S. Open Championship at Bethpage State Park. With a gut-check final-round 73, highlighted by a 4-foot birdie putt on the 70th hole of the championship that separated him from his pursuers, Glover got in the clubhouse at this public golf shrine in 4-under-par 276. That was two shots better than the aforementioned trio and gave Glover, 29, his second professional victory.

Revisit the site of the 109th U.S. Open on the Black Course in a two-round online tournament to win USGA and Bethpage memorabilia! The first round started yesterday and ends Feb. 26. In the first round, you can play an unlimited number of times between now and Feb. 26. Your best score will automatically post. The second round is single play beginning on Feb. 26 and ending March 14. The winners will have the  lowest combined scores of both rounds. Good luck!  Play Now

Prizes Include:

		First place: USGA Photo Store Print from Bethpage Choose your own Photo Store print from the USGA's collection of historic and modern-day images, which include the players, courses and moments that have been etched in the memory of golf fans. The USGA Museum archival reproductions are made from high-resolution digital photographs and digital scans utilizing the latest state-of-the-art digital technology. Once you choose which image you want, the matted image will be encased in a Larson-Juhl custom-made wood frame. See photos.usgamuseum.com for more information. A $500 value.
		Second place: Bethpage plate A commemorative Bethpage pewter plate made by Wilton Armetale, a family-owned and family-run business founded in 1892. Each plate is individually, intricately and uniquely handcrafted. Therefore, no two pieces are exactly alike. A $62 value.
		Third place: 2009 U.S. Open Highlight DVD With the 2009 U.S. Open’s much-anticipated return to Bethpage State Park’s Black Course, golf fans knew they could expect to see a challenging test for the world’s best players. No one counted on the complications Mother Nature would add to the mix. Bethpage’s grounds crew and the players rose to the occasion as they battled the elements during the 109th U.S. Open Championship. When the skies cleared, 29-year-old Lucas Glover hoisted the championship trophy. Approximately 60 minutes. A $19.95 value.

WGT's Pinehurst No. 8 is featured on ESPN.com's list of free online games! We'd love your help giving WGT a high rating by scoring the game 10 out of 10 stars. Play some rounds, show them what you've got, and remember to give us a high rating. To rate the game, you will need to create an ESPN.com account if you don't have one already.

Here are the notes from today's product patch:

Thought You Tamed the Monster? Bethpage Black, Now with Randomly Selected Hole Groups

In December, we gave you six sets of new hole groups—two "easy", two "medium", and two "hard". In today's update, we've randomized the hole groups for each difficulty level to give you infinitely more variety. There are still three categories (easy, medium, and hard), but instead of limiting you to one of two sets of hole groups in each level, you will now get a set that is randomly selected from all the possible hole locations in that level.

In addition to being available in practice and ranked rounds, these hole locations are now also available in multiplayer games and stroke play tournaments. The category of holes you get for ranked games will be based on your tier, and for multiplayer games it will be based on the tier of the highest ranking player. Your hole category in stroke play tournaments will be determined by criteria we set up for the tournament, but will most often be based on your tier. In practice games, you will be able to specify the category you prefer, and the game will select a random group of holes for the course based on that category.

Forum Moderation

The first few posts to the forums by a new player will now be moderated. We will review the posts and approve or reject them, and then decide whether to un-moderate the player. Please note that it may take up to 72 hours after the first post for a new user to be unmoderated.

Bug Fixes

• Your friend activity stream should go beyond one page now.
• The accuracy gauge on the swing meter once again reduces in size while the swing meter is held back.
• You should now be able to change your putter distance after taking a practice shot.
• When viewing a ready-go tournament in the game window, it now correctly displays the number of people who have posted a score. Previously, it always displayed 0.
• You should no longer be able to swing while in reverse camera views by clicking on your avatar when the swing meter is not present.
• Improved the error message you get when trying to purchase an avatar you already own.

From now until March 31, play the SkyCaddie SGX Sweepstakes Challenge for your chance to win one of five new SkyCaddie SGX rangefinders! The SkyCaddie SGX is the The Next Generation Rangefinder, featuring a durable, sleek design and a brilliant 3-inch color transflective LCD screen that is unmatched in graphical clarity indoors and in direct sunlight. Play free today >

By Josh Zander

They call it rough for a reason. It's not easy! You really have to put your thinking cap on when you find your ball in the rough. From a nice lie in the fairway, most golfers think about yardage to the green, the correct shot shape to approach the flag, wind conditions as well as numerous other variables. When you are in the rough, the lie dictates what you can do. Just because you are 150 yards from the green doesn't necessarily mean you can reach the green if the lie is down too much. 

Think of this as a chess move. You want to assess the situation and plan what you can do to improve your position for the next shot. As my coach said in college, don't try to be a hero. If you try to pull off a miracle shot, the most you can ever save is one stroke. If you don't succeed, it often costs you two or more shots. 

Most golfers have experienced the US Open lie where you just have to hack the ball out into the fairway. They have also experienced the lie when the ball is down a little bit limiting the distance they can advance the ball. The least understood of these shots is the flier lie. This is the one that looks like the ball is up on a tee. This ball will come out of the rough like a rocket. It flies farther, has less spin, and does not curve. This occurs because the moisture and grass promotes a slippery surface on the clubface that lessens the friction on the clubface. You will see even more flier lies on tour this year because of the new grooves. Again, there is less friction which means less spin. Flier lies can be great when you are trying to advance the ball as far as you can up the fairway but they become dangerous when you try to approach a green. Missing the green long tends to lead to high scores. My suggestion is to err towards the shorter club and if you miss the green short, you tend to have an uphill chip or pitch which is not that bad. 

Every golfer will hit it in the rough many times during a round. The one that is armed with he knowledge of what can be accomplished with each lie has a significant advantage. Unfortunately, driving ranges are not set up to allow golfers to practice these lies, hence golfers tend to really struggle out of the rough. Next time you get a chance to  play golf by yourself, throw some balls into the rough and experiment what you can do. With good decision making and experience the rough will become less...rough!

Here are the highlights from today's product release. While we make an effort to include all updates made to the product, please note that occasionally some changes are unintentionally omitted.

SkyCaddie Walks the Course with You

In partnership with SkyGolf, makers of SkyCaddie rangefinders, WGT has launched multiple distance markers and aerial camera views for drives and approach shots. Now when you click ZOOM, you will be able to see multiple yardage measurements around greens and bunkers and view the hole from several strategically placed camera angles. You will be able to turn this feature on and off in the game options menu. To celebrate the release of the new SkyCaddie SGX (coming in March 2010), be sure to enter the SkyCaddie SGX Challenge today for a chance to win one of five new SGX devices.

Please note, there will be tournaments in the future where this feature is not allowed and will be turned off.

New Avatars in the Pro Shop

More looks are now available in the pro shop--show your uniqueness and pick up a new avatar today!

Ball Purchase Improvements in the Pro Shop

We did some house-cleaning in the ball section of the Pro Shop, making it easier to find the one you're looking for. On the main golf balls and WGT brand pages, you will see the types of balls available. After you click on the type of ball, you will see a drop-down menu that lists the colors available and their cost.

When you click BUY NOW, you will be able to specify how many 3-pack sleeves you want. For example, if you want a dozen balls, you would enter a quanity of "4" to buy four sleeves of balls or 12 in total.

Ready-Go Tournament Improvements

• We shortened the time you have to complete a ready-go round after it fills up from 24 hours to 12 hours.
• When you view a ready-go tournament in the game menu, you will see the number of people signed up, how many have posted a score, and the estimated end date and time.
• Players that have withdrawn from a ready-go will post a "WD" on the leaderboard.
• When a ready-go is filled but not ended, we will now show you the number of players who still need to post a score and the estimated end date/time of the tournament.
• The payout table now includes payout amounts for all 30 places.

New Equipment in the Pro Shop - Available to Pro+

• TaylorMade Daytona Putter - A balanced and forgiving putter, in meter increments of 15, 30, 60, 90 and 150ft.

Bug Fixes

• You can now turn off emails from forum threads where you checked the "Email me replies to this post." checkbox. Simply go to any post you made in the thread, click Edit, uncheck the box, and save. You can also turn it off by not checking the checkbox when you reply in the thread.
• You should no longer get an error message when you submit an abuse report in the forums.
• You should no longer get a blue screen when going into extra holes in match play.
• The Match Play Mastery award should now be adding up correctly.
• The aim indicator should no longer disappear on certain reverse views.
• When you forfeit a tournament, you will now see a green checkmark next to the tournament, indicating that you have played.
• When a friend starts playing a tournament while you have a multiplayer/friend invititation slot open, an additional "Add Player" slot will not be created.
• Corrected an issue that prevented proper multi-player matchmaking
• When playing with three players in a multiplayer round, game should no longer hang after tee-off.
• The ball should no longer "splash" on certain greens.
• Hole info has been fixed for Bethpage hole #9.

Enjoy these great shots!

• Great save from the trees on Bethpage #1 by paulmcm
• Slam dunk on Bali Hai #1 by iwb1
• 66 ft putt on Bethpage #13 by YankeeJim
• Nice backspin into the hole on Bethpage #4 by AvatarLee

By Josh Zander

Now that it is winter, many of us are taking a break from golf for a while. Like many other golfers, just because I am not playing doesn't mean I am not thinking about it. One of the ideas you may want to consider is developing a "Go To" shot. Tour players often call this their stock shot. This is a shot shape that you know you can do produce on command. 

There are nine shots in golf. You can choose a straight ball, a draw, or a fade and then pick a low, medium or high version of each one. My "Go To" shot happens to be a medium draw. My scores improved significantly once I decided to stick to my "Go To" shot.  The only time I stray is when the situation on the golf course dictates something completely different. Nicklaus' "Go To" shot was a high fade. History shows that worked out pretty well for him. 

Why is a "Go To" shot so important? The answer is predictability. As a golf instructor, my students are always asking me how to be more consistent. A stock shot will help you plan and give you a good idea of where your shot is going to go. Think about your tee shot to a 40 yard wide fairway. Nicklaus would tee his ball up on the right side of the tee box and aim down the left hand side of the fairway. He could fade it up to 39 yards and still be in the fairway. If you tee it up in the middle of the tee box and try to hit it down the middle of the fairway without knowing how your ball is going to curve, you now have only half the fairway to work with. In other words, if you fade or hook your ball 21 yards, you have now missed the fairway.

Tour players have a stock shot and their goal is to never have their shot cross the target line. This means that a player like Zach Johnson who's "Go To" shot is a draw, always starts his ball right of the target line and draws the ball back to the target. His goal is to never start his ball left of his target line and never to hook his ball across the target line. When he accomplishes this, he will have a great ball-striking week. Remember, there are two shots that don't work in golf as a right-handed player, a hook that starts left and a slice that starts right! Get a "Go To" shot in your arsenal and you cannot help but be a better player. Spring will be here before you know it.