The Curious Business of “Key Statistics”

by Steve Pike | Jul 16, 2026 | Equipment, golf business, golf entertainment, Instruction, Opinion, Technology

Part II of Brian Sommer’s four-part series: Why Golf Monitors Cannaot Save Golf The phrase “key statistics” deserves rather more attention than it usually receives. Not because there is anything inherently wrong with statistics. There isn’t....

Why Launch Monitors Cannot Save Golf

by Steve Pike | Jul 15, 2026 | golf business, golf entertainment, Golf News, Instruction, Opinion, PGA Tour, Technology

Part I of Brian Sommer’s four-part look into the Priesthood of Numbers There is a peculiar superstition spreading through modern golf. Like all successful superstitions, it disguises itself as progress. It does not concern shallowing the club, wrist conditions,...

The Difference Between Playing Golf and Watching Golf

by Steve Pike | Jun 29, 2026 | golf business, Golf Course Design, Golf Courses, Golf News, Opinion, PGA Tour

Part III of Brian Sommer’s four-part essay on what the World Cup, Shinnecock Hills, and the Long Island Crowd Exposed .https://spikeongolfandtravel.com/professional-golf-stuck-between-profound-and-compelling/ The Spectator Problem Golf Pretends Not to Have By Brian...

Pro Golf: Between Profound and Compelling

by Steve Pike | Jun 27, 2026 | golf business, Golf Course Design, Golf Courses, Golf News, Opinion, USGA

Part I of Brian Sommer’s four-part essay on what the World Cup, Shinnecock Hills, and the Long Island Crowd Exposed By Brian Sommer Golf has a self-importance problem. That is not the same as saying golf is unimportant. Nor is it to deny its difficulty. Golf is...

A Deep Dive Into The Titleist Pro V1 Golf Ball Family

by Steve Pike | Jun 25, 2026 | Equipment, golf balls, golf business, Golf News, Opinion

By Brian Sommer There is a peculiar modern superstition in golf – one that passes for science simply because it is accompanied by numbers. Launch monitors hum, TrackMan units blink with authority, and fitting sessions proceed with the solemnity of laboratory...

Putting and The Full Burden of Consequence

by Steve Pike | Jun 17, 2026 | Equipment, golf business, Golf News, Instruction, Opinion

By Brian Sommer There is a peculiar modern superstition in golf equipment design – polished, efficient, technologically fluent, and utterly convinced of its own benevolence. It is the belief that if one refines geometry sufficiently, redistributes mass with...