Ty Votaw (recent past commissioner of the LPGA Tour) has the most incredibly poor timing on the planet.

After years of effort in building the LPGA “brand” he is leaving the hottest commodity on the planet; women’s golf!

And his parting act was a paternalistic prohibition, denying the blistering hot phenom Morgan Pressel, fresh off a runner-up finish at that US Women’s Open and capturing the US Women’s Amateur in a rout, the chance to turn pro and capitalize on the tremendous buzz she has created with her fantastic play, emotional demeanor and fiery temper.
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Used to be the most important club in a golfer’s arsenal was a certain one of his clubs. Now a golfer’s most important piece of equipment just might be his “club adjustment wrench”.

With the introduction of Taylor Made’s new R7 driver the game stands at the precarious threshold of “adaptable equipment”; equipment capable of having its playing characteristics altered on a continual basis, to suit the course the golfer might be playing that day.
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Stories spread like wildfire in the golf media nowadays. 

Someone suggests that Annika should be allowed to try a men’s event (ProGolfTalk.com Jan. 2, 2002 “Hootie’s Coup: Let Annika Play”) and soon it’s all over the media.

Now the hot topic is becoming:

 “technology must be stopped”...

Golf is growing. In fact, golf is outgrowing itself in many ways.  

With the inroads made in 2003 by women invading the bastion of the hitherto male-only PGA Tour,  golf is poised for some unsettling changes. 

The gender-gap of the PGA Tour is poised to become an artifact of history.

How often do we hear from European players, “if you want to play against the best you have to play the PGA Tour"  European players uproot families and move to the states ...

In a time when golf is changing rapidly through the pressure of technology and the burgeoning acceptance of golf by the masses and the media, any proposed rules changes must be examined carefully to see whether or not they will change the fundamental nature of the game.

Technology brings to golf the potential to alter the game game in ways that will disconnect it from its rich history. Scoring records of the past might no longer be able to be compared with those of present-day players because of advances in equipment, agronomy and the intense development of the professional tours. The USGA and the R & A have as their role the protection of the spirit and standards of the game. With this all who truly love the game must agree: standards need to be maintained.

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ProGolfTalk magazine and ProGolfTalk.com will be developed into THE premier publication and website promoting and reporting the world of mini-tour golf. Find out more about our plans for PGT by contacting us directly. We welcome your input and opinion.

First, don’t kid yourself that tour players play the clubs you do. They don’t. Their clubs may have the name of their company on them but in many cases their clubs are completely custom-made and bear only slight resemblances to those the consumer buys...

Life is fragile. It can end without a moment's notice.

Tragedy struck the world of golf Monday October 25, 1999. 

William Payne Stewart died in a plane crash.

Gone is the effervescent smile, gone are the plus-fours, gone is that lyrical swing. Gone but never to be forgotten Payne Stewart's record as a PGA Tour player put him in the upper echelon. He performed in a rarified atmosphere to which most players can only aspire...

Annika to Play the Masters!
What a headline! Talk about setting the tabloids on fire.

 Hootie Johnson, Masters tournament chairman and head of Augusta National Golf Club, could make amends in gargantuan proportions by “upstaging” Martha Burk. In one fell swoop he could not only answer the critics but seize the spotlight as well. Invite Annika Sorenstam to be the first woman to ever play in the Masters.

If any woman ever deserved such a chance it’s Annika...

Transcript of Arnold Palmer’s Opinion on Modern Technology
 
ProGolfTalk.com:  “Do you think the USGA has done all they could have or should have to anticipate the “collective effect” of this technology, not just the ball, not just the head, not just the shaft but the cumulative effect…?”

Palmer: “I just don’t think you can stop certain aspects of development.  I mean, what are you going to do? Like the golf ball, 25 years, 30 years ago we had the same specs for the golf ball we have today." ...