2014 Deutsche Bank Championship Picks - Weekend Update

The first two rounds of the 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship have just concluded at the Tournament Players Club of Boston in Norton, Massachusetts and the co-leaders going into the final two rounds are Ryan Palmer and Jason Day. They share a score of 8-under and a one shot lead over Matt Kuchar and Billy Horschel. Palmer shot an impressive 63 on Friday but followed it with a 71 today, whereas Jason Day shot a 66/68 to get to 8-under.

The cut this week has also been set at 3-over but only consisted of less than 15 players.

I was actually thinking of picking Jason Day as a pick this week, and it looks like it would have been a good choice. He's probably the most consistent pro golfer in the world right now.

Here is how our picks are doing after two rounds of play:

1) Rickie Fowler: T17 at 3-under (-3)
2) Keegen Bradley: T5 at 6-under (-6)
3) Phil Mickelson: T50 at 1-over (+1)

Not too bad, and no surprise from Fowler of course.

Stay tuned Monday evening for our final results post,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

The 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship Picks

The first round of the 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship is just a day away. This is the second of four FedEx Cup Playoff Events and is played at the Tournament Players Club of Boston (par7/7,124 yards) in Norton, Massachusetts. This tournament is unique in the sense that it starts on a Friday and ends on Labour Day Monday, and is played over the Labour Day long weekend. It's also connected to the Tiger Woods Foundation.

This being the second stage of the FedEx Playoffs, the Deutsche Bank Championship hosts the top-100 golfers in the FedEx Cup Rankings and has an 8 million dollar purse, with 1.44 million going to the winner. Notable winners of the tournament are Henrik Stenson (2013), Rory McIlroy (2012), and Webb Simpson (2011).

Since this tournament contains the top-100 ranked FedEx Cup players, the field typically has depth and diversity to it, more than regular PGA tournaments I find. Given this, here are our picks for the winner this year:

1) Rickie Fowler: His time is coming very soon I think
2) Keegen Bradley: a "dark horse" pick
3) Phil Mickelson: he also won this tournament back in 2007

Stay tuned for our weekend coverage of the tournament, which will be posted on Saturday evening. Also, leave a comment and tell us who your picks are,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Mill Run Golf Club - Championship Course Review #1

Name: Mill Run Golf Club - Championship Course
Location: Uxbridge, Ontario (~50 minutes northeast of Toronto)
Type: Public with membership options
Holes: 27 (3x9)
Length and Par: 5,000-6,711 yards / 71-72
Tees: (Shortest to Longest):  Red, White, Blue, Black
Website: http://www.golfmillrun.com/index.htm

Mill Run's Championship Toronto Golf Course, in Uxbridge, now boasts 27 holes with The Grind, the newest 9 holes opened in the spring of 2007. With 3 distinct 18-hole layouts the Championship Course is a great opportunity to test all of your golfing skills and abilities, with its mature setting and lengths of up to 6,800 yards. It also incorporates numerous sets of tees for players of all different levels. -www.golfmillrun.com


Course Layout:  
Pace of Play:
Staff:  
Value:
Course Conditions:

Price:
Difficulty: << Based on play from Black Tees

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The Championship Course at Mill Run Golf Club is a course that I've played many times over the years and one that's ideal for golfers of all skill level looking for a scenic and challenging course to play. Mill Run offers 27 Championship golf holes, as well as an easier 18-hole executive par 59 "Highland" Course, and excellent off-course amenities. These include a large elegant clubhouse, banquet facilities, a driving range, dining/patio areas, and a sports bar/restaurant, among other things; all which offer you the full country club experience. It's worth noting that their restaurant is a proper restaurant with very good food, in fact, some of the best food I've had at a golf course. The course on a whole also has a nice/relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff, which I think makes it an ideal place to buy a membership to, if one is interested.

The Championship Course is made up of three sets of nines, the Wheel, the Grind, and the Grist. The Wheel takes water into play on many of it's holes and is typically considered the toughest nine. The Grind features distinct and long dogleg holes that offer up beautiful scenery (see below) at the price of precise shot-making; I personally prefer this nine to the others. The Grist is a more open nine with holes that are more forgiving that the others. These very different nines have the ability to offer you three different courses depending on which nines you play, so the course has depth to it and I don't think it's one you'll get bored of playing time after time. A hole that best describes the Championship Course and what it has to offer is Grind #6, a par 5 410-484 yard uphill dogleg left hole. The entire hole cuts through a dense pine forest and starts out level for about 200 yards, then turns sharply left and starts to go uphill, leaving you with a blind second shot. As you approach the hill, the fairway begins to slope down hill to a bunker-protected green. The hole demands both accuracy and confidence and is a good test of a golfers skill. While some holes may appear challenging, four sets of tee boxes ensure that golfers of all skill level are accommodated.

The layout of each of the nines has also been done well. Each nine remains separate from the other, however some holes, such as those on the Grist, are close to one another. On some, you get the feeling that a bad or pulled tee shot might end up on the adjacent hole's fairway, which I guess is really the only downside to having forgiving and open holes that the Grist offers. Course conditions are also very good and the course is always kept in top condition. During my last outing to the course, there had been a large heat spell beforehand, but the fairways and greens weren't dried out or patchy. What I also like is that at every tee box, there is a large bucket of dirt/seeds so you can refill your divots after you hit (It's little things like this that make the course nicer). Pace of play is usually not an issue, unless you are playing at high peak times/weekends, as with most courses.

The prices are a little higher than what you might expect though. 18 hole green fees range from $56 to $66 depending on the day of the week and $39 any day after 4PM (tax excluded). Power cart fees are about $18 for 18 holes, so when it's all said and done, a weekday round with a cart will cost you just over $80. Lower prices are offered for seniors and juniors too. Despite this, I wouldn't go as far as saying that it's overpriced, since the scenery and variety of holes makes up for it.

Overall, the Championship Course at Mill Run Golf Club is a unique course that offers golfers of all skill levels scenic holes to play and a great golfing atmosphere overall, despite it's slightly higher prices. I'd recommend it to any golfer who wants to give their golf game a little test and to those who want to experience a scenic course.

Have you played here? Comment and let us know what you thought about it,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

The 2014 Barclays Picks - Results

The four rounds of the first playoff event of the 2014 FedEx Cup are now over and this year's winner of The 2014 Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club is Hunter Mahan, who shot a 6-under 65 today to win the tournament at 14-under, a two shot lead over Stuart Appleby, Cameron Tringale, and Jason Day. This is Mahan's first win of 2014 and his first win since winning the 2012 Shell Houston Open.

Mahan's 6-under 65 was the low round of the day and was shot by several other players as well. With this win, Mahan earns precious FedEx Cup points. He started the week ranked 62th on the points list but due to his win, he is now on top of the rankings. A good finish also ensures a fair amount of points too. For example, Morgan Hoffman just barely made it into the tournament being ranked 124th earlier this week, but he finished T9 today and has now shot up 52 points to 72 on the points list.

It just goes to show how important these playoff events are for players. A win or even good finishes in a few of these events can put you in a great position to win the FedEx Cup when its all said and done. Henrik Stenson did just that last year, winning the Deutsche Bank and Tour Championship (both playoff events), thus winning him the FedEx Cup.

With so much movement in the FedEx Cup points list in the upcoming weeks, its not too hard to see why the FedEx Cup Playoffs bring such excitement year after year. 

Finally, here is how our picks finished the tournament:

1) Graeme McDowell: T38 at 3-under (-3)
2) Rickie Fowler: T9 at 9-under (-9)
3) Jason Day: T2 at 12-under (-12)

An okay finish for GMac; he probably doesn't like it seeing how he needs to be playing his best golf now to ensure he gets on the European Ryder Cup team. And of course its not surprising to see Fowler and Day near the top. They certainly deserve every cent they're earning given the way their playing as of lately.

Stay tuned for our coverage of the next FedEx Cup playoff event, the 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Hunter Mahan wins The 2014 Barclays (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

The 2014 Barclays Picks - Weekend Update

The cut has been made and there are only two more rounds left of the 2014 Barclays. The co-leaders going into the weekend rounds are Cameron Tringale and Adam Scott, who both lead at 8-under (-8). The hold a one shot lead. The cut this week has also been set at 1-over (+1).

Scoring conditions were good in both rounds and especially in today's round. The low round of the day was a 7-under 64 which was shot by a few players.

A round of note was that of Rory Mcilroy. Rory shot a 74 in his first round, but then rallied to shoot a 65 today, which is good enough for a T27 place.

Here are how our picks are doing:

1) Graeme McDowell: T16 at 4-under (-4)
2) Rickie Fowler: T50 at 1-under (-1)
3) Jason Day: T6 at 6-under (-6)

Jason Day was one of the players who shot the low round of the day. He's probably the most consistent player on tour in terms of his place on the leaderboard. It always seems that he's in and about the top of it.

Stay tuned for the winner this Sunday evening,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

The 2014 Barclays Picks

It's official now, the 2014 FedEx Cup Playoffs are officially under way, with the first event being The 2014 Barclays, which is being played this week at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey. As with all playoff events, the Barclays prize fund is a little higher than the regular PGA tournament and of course offers tons of FedEx Cup points.

Ridgewood Country Club has hosted The Barclays twice in the past, in 2008 and 2010. It has also hosted several senior and amateur events, as well as a Ryder Cup in 1935. However the club is probably known best as being the club where Byron Nelson was worked as an assistant pro, earlier in his career. It plays as a par 71 and 7,319 yards.

The Barclays features the top 125 players on the FedEx Cup points rankings, which includes many of the top players in the world. Here are our picks for the Barclays winner this year:

1) Graeme McDowell: he's always one of our picks whenever he's playing
2) Rickie Fowler: he's playing hot golf at the moment and is probably playing as the second best player in the world behind Rory McIlroy
3) Jason Day: I don't know how he does it, but Jason Day's always near the top of any leaderboard.

Stay tuned for our weekend update of the Barclays,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Cobra BiO Cell Driver Review

Name: Cobra BiO Cell Driver
Price: $199-$230 depending on the store
Features: Crown cell weighting, Forged E9 BiO Cell face, Myfly8 adjustable loft with Smartpad Technology, Variety of color options

Pros: very user-friendly and simple to adjust, technology actually works, very forgiving especially on off-centre hits, comes in flashy colors
Cons: None

Value:
Build/Quality:
Effectiveness:
Features:

Overall Rating:  4.7 out of 5

The Cobra BiO Cell Driver has been the subject of much buzz over the past few months. It's even been listed on Golf Digest's Hot List and used by pros like Rickie Fowler. Many have praised it primarily for it's forgiveness and easiness to hit, as well as for it's technology, customization, and simplicity. As a person who has always struggled with accuracy and distance off the tee and one who currently plays a tour driver, this club naturally drew my attention.

Let's start with some of the features and technology in the Cobra BiO Cell driver first. To start, the driver features Crown Cell weighting, which moves some of the weight of the club to the lower back part of it. This lowers the centre of gravity of the club and increases its moment of inertia, all which results in higher balls speeds (good for distance). The driver also features a Forged E9 Bio Cell face, which removes some more weight from the face of the club and creates a larger "sweetspot" on the face of the club. This feature is ideal for forgiveness as a larger "sweetspot" allows even off-centre hits to still travel farther and straighter. The Myfly8 adjustable loft allows the player to select up to eight different loft settings between 9 and 12 degrees as well as draw settings for certain lofts (9.5, 10.5, 11.5). This ensures that you can personalize the club to your specific swing and style, in order to get the most out of it. The Smartpad sole on the bottom of the club also ensures that the clubhead remains square regardless of what loft setting is chosen.

Now all these features and technology may seen fancy and nice to have, but do they actually work? I've been testing out the driver for about a week now on a variety of courses and ranges and the results actually surprised me. With my current 10.5° driver, I average about 220 yards and most of the time with moderate ball movement mid-flight. With the Cobra BiO Cell set to 10.5°, I averaged about 235 yards off the tee and about 240 when struck dead centre on the clubface. But best of all was my ball movement during flight, which was reduced dramatically, leaving me with straight drives with barely and right-left movement midair. In fact, the only time the driver had significant movement was when I intentionally swung with a bad swing/stance. The BiO Cell was also easier to hit on the whole and I found myself striking the ball pure more often compared to my current driver, all thanks to that large sweetspot. I'd call that an improvement from my normal drives.

What I like about this club too is how user-friendly and customizable it is. Cobra offers the BiO Cell driver in five different colors; black, silver, red, orange, and blue, so you can buy whichever one pleases you. Loft adjustment is also really easy to do yourself. All you do is loosen up the screw onto the head of the shaft with Cobra's included torque wrench, twist the shaft of the club until you see your desired loft setting in the cut-out on the hosel (see image above), then tighten the screw until you hear a loud click from the wrench, which ensures that the club has been tightened enough. With this club, you're getting customizability that's found in drivers double the price. And it'll compete with those drivers and probably outdo them too.

So let's recap things a bit. The BiO Cell driver claims to be more forgiving, and it does just that. It also claims to help you hit longer and straighter drives, and it does just that. Cobra has done an amazing job on this driver. The technology in the club actually works, which is more that you can say for most drivers on the market. And as a golfer, that's really satisfying.

Overall, the Cobra BiO Cell driver definitely lives up to all the hype. I'd recommend it to all golfers who want more distance and straightness on their drives and especially to those golfers who want a forgiving club that will still prove itself when struck perfectly. A sidenote, as with all adjustable drivers, you should probably get the BiO Cell fitted to your specific swing, to make sure you get the best results out of the club.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Do you have this club? Leave us a comment and tell us what you think of it!