When it comes to the putting grips of the game's top players, there should be no surprises nowadays. Vijay Singh reinforced that notion at the AT&T National on Thursday by debuting a cross-handed grip on his belly putter with a dash of claw. Don't be surprised if he adds a SuperStroke prototype to the mix next week ...























Vijay has made more putting grip changes than perhaps anyone in the game. Now he has decided to combine every grip change he has ever made. 

A number of players shot rounds in the 80s at the first round of the Memorial. These players aren't exactly notables, but they're not no-namers either (aside from Chappell at 86; no one has heard of him). Had Luke Donald given Brad Faxon a stroke a hole, he still would have won.

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They charge more to play the simulator than the actual golf course on golfnow.com











Thanks to Green Blazer Corps member Pjohnstonian for submitting this picture
Dig through the archive for more entries in this recurring segment

The Golf Channel asked today, "Which Rory will win the Nelson tomorrow ... Sabbatini or Mcilroy?" Rumor has it, the two combined to make a new golf superstar ... Rory Maccatini

As most have heard, Footjoy is closing the plant responsible for making the sought after, and very expensive, Footjoy Classics.

Classics will no longer be in the Footjoy line going forward. This is unfortunate for all as we can no longer browse through FJ catalogs and dream of all the pairs of Classics we could have if only we could afford them/quit being too cheap to pull the trigger on unnecessary extravagances.

Where there is misfortune, there is also opportunity. The Green Blazer has made the point before, if there is any appreciating golf equipment/apparel, it likely comes from Acushnet products. So why not grab ahold of some of the great deals on Classics, buy the lot, wait for the price to rise, and sell them back on ebay for more than you paid to rich golf nerds who likely can't break 90? Only time will tell if the going rate exceeds the $199/pair.

If Sergio Garcia wins the Masters, Golfsmith is promising a full refund for anyone who buys an R7, R9, or Burner driver by April 11th.

This is hilarious because they make it out to the public that they think the Serge has little chance of victory. The more perceptive public knows that they took an insurance policy protecting them from paying out millions if Sergio somehow finally gets it done in a major. The policy is similar in nature to the hole-in-one policy from your local charity outing, which we all know is ridden with hacks, and we all also know that one of them occasional hits a miracle.

How much would this policy have cost Golfsmith if they insured themselves against Tiger winning?

This article was featured in the Vail Mountaineer on 3.28.09






















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As one of the streakiest newer players on the PGA Tour, we all know Jason Gore's range of scores are wider than he would like. Now thanks to a horrible picture the Blazer nabbed totally without permission from Yahoo Sports, Gore's midsection range seems to be widening too:

FAT EVEN IN BLACK: Jason Gore has always looked like if you poked him with a pin, juices would run out resembling that of a pork sausage, but Gore is looking especially fat in this picture at Bay Hill on Thursday.

We had heard Phelps was an avid reader, but now we have the proof. What better thing to do while blazing the green than checking out The Green Blazer's page. Thanks Micheal for your continued support, and keep the greens ablaze.

Charlie Hoffman lost last week's FBR in a playoff against the wildly popular Ken boy Perry. Hoffman is known on tour as a fashionless nerd, who stands out in an era where many of the young studs (and Steve Elkington) dress like some str8, right-on, no-worries bros. Hoffman's lack of style is exemplified in the pic below:

Are you currently a member at a chincey, semi-private (otherwise known as public) golf course?   Have you stopped bothering to call for a time on a weekday afternoon because you are 95 percent sure the course is filled with outing hacks?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, The Green Blazer has got some truth to drop on ya: Private clubs are suffering; now is the time to negotiate yourself a fatty deal! Follow the steps below and you'll never have to see an outing hack in a cutoff t-shirt again:

Identify the club(s) that is struggling the most
You should be able to gauge the clubs that are suffering by word of mouth and the level of desperation by the ads. The Golf Club at Cape Cod in Falmouth, MA temporarily waived its $85,000 initiation to attract temporary members. That is not a move on an, "exclusive enclave," as they bill themselves, but would be a sick opportunity to sneak in.

Call the GM and make him aware of your interest
A GM at the brink of losing his job will cream his pants at prospective members contacting him. By calling and giving him your info, he may even contact you, sweetening the deal if you haven't reached out to him in a while.

Express discontent with one or more of the offerings
The club you are targeting likely already has a deal going, but they might be sugar coating it a bit, so ask questions and call them out on anything that sounds fishy. Maybe the club doesn't offer a cart membership, or maybe their minimums are too high. Whatever it is, make your contact at the club aware that hey ... That sucks. Sensing your discontent, the manager will often offer you something extra without you having to ask.

Do's and Don'ts in Negotiating your deal
Many GM's are up creek without a paddle, their job hanging on by a thread. Even so, most will not circumvent the clubs policy on the dues members pay. If you ask them for lower dues and no initiation, you'll likely end of gaining nothing and looking like a chince in the process. Initiation fees, however, can often be amortized over many years, so definitely tell your contact that you will not be able to pay the entire initiation the first year.

Guest Passes Glore
There is no end to the number of guest passes you can conjure out of a softy manager at a desperate club. If their deal offers 3, the minimum you should ask for is 9.

Start paying next year
If it is mid-season and you're ready, you should be able to work out a deal to get the rest of the current year for free. A great rule when negotiating ... If the incentive you are asking for doesn't show up on their books, they will be inclined to acquiesce to your request ... Until next time, this has been another GB banger















THERE'S NO GAMBLING AT BUSHWOOD!: Many country clubs are gambling away their exclusive reputation by offering screaming deals to new members. Some clubs are hurting so bad they can't even afford stick em' for their members grips.

The Blazer would be enjoying the Sony Open on HD right now, but the Golf Channel HD is not working ... all the other HD channels are working fine, so ol' Blaze is pretty sure is the hacky Golf Channel.

Right now they got Sands and Lerner out back trying to fix it, so it should be back up soon.