Opinion & Analysis

The Plight of the Working Class Golfer

Published

9 years ago

Aug 13, 2017

There are people whose entire lives literally revolve around golf. They spend their days as PGA Professionals, club fitters, golf personalities, or some combination thereof. When they finish their coffee in the morning, they go to the golf course. They’re surrounded by racks of new equipment in the clubhouse, pyramids of range balls, and a host of co-workers to talk to who know the game and enjoy it (at least on some level). If I just described you, good on you. Lots of readers here want to be you.

Then there’s the rest of us. We’re general contractors, insurance salesmen, elementary school teachers, doctors, union carpenters, and loan officers. Some of us make $40,000 a year and some of us make $400,000 a year. Some of us are single-digit handicappers and some of us just broke 100 for the first time. We finish our coffee in the morning, drop the kids off at school, and go to work. The majority of our co-workers have never played golf except for the company golf scramble five years ago, which was really just a chance to skip out on work and try to win a door prize.

Outside of work, the kids have soccer and softball practices, the yard needs mowing, and the wife wants to go to her yoga class. Somewhere in that chaos (and among the constant ringing of your cell phone), you have to make time for golf. And by the way, the oldest needs braces, the minivan needs new tires, and renovating your bathroom is about 10 years overdue. If there’s anything left of that very limited supply of money, it’d be nice to upgrade your old R9 driver.

Let’s face the facts. Golf is hard. Really hard. Stupid hard. And just getting out to the course to find out how hard it is requires 5-6 hours of your weekend, $1,000 for a serviceable bag full of clubs, $50 for your round, and another $75 for balls, a glove, a hot dog, and some beers at the turn. And you’re just getting started. Wait until you spend every lunch break on the range trying to get better in between rounds, then spring for a few lessons, then get custom fitted for new clubs. The rabbit hole is deep, my friend.

The point of this article is not to push everyone to play 10 rounds of golf a week. It’s not to tell you that you need a swing coach, a fitness instructor, and a nutritionist. It’s not even to tell you to tuck your elbow in, keep your head still, or your knees bent. It’s certainly not meant to slight those that do provide that content (as it is useful) or to scare away the casual or even the curious golfer. The point of this article is merely to say this: I get it.

Golf is a difficult, expensive, and time consuming game, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t the most fun you can have with your clothes on (to paraphrase Jimmy Demaret’s famous quote). That 7-iron you hit over water to 2 feet last Saturday was one of the highlights of your year. For that one moment, you weren’t thinking about bills or deadlines or any responsibilities at all. You felt invincible… like you had just slayed a dragon. And that’s why you do it. It’s a chance to be outside in some of the prettiest acreage around, forget about how long that load of laundry has been in the dryer, and chase that dragon.

If this article describes you, I’m rooting for you. Brand new golf clubs don’t fall into your lap, you live and work 15 miles away from the golf course, you’ve got 10,000 other things competing for your attention… but you still make it happen. Good for you. Spend some quality time with the wife and kids this week, go crush it at work, and then get out there and go low this weekend.

Opinion & Analysis

5 Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

2 weeks ago

May 15, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.

Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.

First, meet Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.

Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter

The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.

Third, meet Martin Kaymer

Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.

Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler

Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.

Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger

Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!

Club Junkie

Club Junkie’s Titleist GTS driver fitting results!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.

I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.

To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.

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Club Junkie

Club Junkie WITB, week 16: New Titleist GTS woods!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.

Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s

5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour

Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag