Pagunsan Qualifies For The Open Using 11 Clubs Prompting Yet More Calls To Just Try It One Lousy Week You Tour Dullards!

Okay maybe I got a little carried away with that header.

But for those who’ve long wondered what it would be like to see today’s decathletes play a reduced set of clubs. Because there would be the ensuing shotmaking, plus lots of chatter about how the team at (fill in gratuitous manufacturer plug here) helped tweak the bag to cover the numbers.

So it’s with this in mind Alistair Tait celebrates Juvic Pagunsan needing just 11 clubs to win the Japan Tour’s Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open last weekend. With caddies forbidden due to Covid-19, Pagunsan lightened his bag of the 3, 4, 6 and 8 irons while adding a hybrid.

Tait suggests the overall max number should be lowered, but I’d take just a tournament here or there where it was the Local Rule. Anyway, Tait explains what Pagunsan was thinking:

Not only did he win to qualify for Royal St George’s, he did so by three shots with a 17-under 199 thanks to scores of 66, 65 and 68. So much for 14 clubs.

“What do I do when I need 6-iron? Well, I will just adjust it by using different club,” Pagunsan told the Japan Tour website.

“On 11th, wind was blowing at me and I had 160 yards to play, and I used my 5 Iron, what choice do I have?"

"Since I didn't have much choice of clubs, I didn't have to think too much to choose," he added.

Major(s) News And Notes, March 25, 2021

We’re just 14-day from The Masters and so it features prominently in this week’s free edition of The Quadrilateral.

But there are plenty of other notes, maybe a cringe or eye roll or two and hopefully just a bit more excitement about major championship season.

Subscriber info and other FAQ’s here.

Major(s) Notes, March 11, 2011

This week we learned Augusta National’s tax bill, major concerns for two major favorites, horrifying Masters radio news and a progressive maintenance plan for the U.S. Women's Open.

And it’s all in the latest Quadrilateral.This and so, so much more for the low price of free to read once a week and even free to sign-up.

Major(s) News Week: January 15, 2021

A new edition of The Quadrilateral is out to subscribers.

A wrap-up of majors news, including the historic pivot from Donald Trump plus other random notes, heavily tilted toward The Masters just 84 days from now.

Learn more here or just go ahead and subscribe here. The options; Free, $5 a month, $49 a year or a $150 founding membership that includes a free subscription for a friend.

The Quadrilateral: Majors Will Be This Decade's Superstars

After the calendar mercifully flipped I mentioned a pivot in coverage in addition to GeoffShackelford.com.

So I present to you, The Quadrilateral.

I started posting random internet items in 2003 on a clunky website before “blog” was a word. There weren’t many others in golf then and fast forward to 2021, even fewer golf newsletters today by one writer. (The Fried Egg started that way but they’ve grown and aren’t we grateful for that?)

As explained on the The Quadrilateral’s About page, I’ve come to love the format after growing attached to the missives from trusted scribes. I’ve been struck by how unencumbered they sounded thanks to a more direct, semi-private connection to readers. Also helping: the visual cleanliness, clickbait-free burden lift, a lack of cookie requests and conflict-free analysis.

I expect to bring the same with a focus on my favorite part of golf tournament coverage: the four men’s majors (and 2021 Ryder Cup).

The newsletter name is from a 1930 reference to Bobby Jones’ grand slam and to kick things off in the inaugural missive, explains why majors will be this decade’s superstars. It’s my explanation why the big four will only get more interesting as the week-to-week pro golf product falls flat.

Subscribing is free and easy thanks to Substack’s design. You’ll get a good sampling of the format and tone over the next month. But as we move closer to the majors expect fewer newsletters available unless you join.

The Quadrilateral is $5 monthly or $49 a year). I’ve also added a Founders option for $150 that will include a one-year subscription for you and a friend.

If you just want a simpler explanation of The Quadrilateral with pretty pictures, I’ve built this standalone website. There you’ll find my explanation for jumping to this format, a FAQ page and the original reference to the quadrilateral.

No questions and you’re ready to start enjoying the majors even more: just go here to subscribe and read the kick-off letter.