Golf Videos of the Week (4/23)

RORY CHANNELS TIGER ... BUT IS NOT A RIVAL ON THE COURSE OR ON MADISON AVENUE

Rory McIlroy leading up to the Masters confirmed (sensibly) that he does not consider himself a rival of Tiger. More entertaining is Tiger with a nice version of the humblebrag in the same video, or maybe it's more of a backdoor brag, as Woods matter-of-factly lists all the players that have been (and essentially dispatched) as rivals throughout his career. Very smooth Tiger ... or should we call you the Godfather.

Although he is no rival, he called back to Tiger's famous improvised Nike ad this week.

If you don't recall the original, here it is. The story went that it was a spontaneous ad that only took a take or two.

This "blooper" ad was clearly filmed on a separate day (different outfit and different range). With Nike's marketing, it would not surprise me if they filmed this intending to use the misses as part of the ad-campaign for the clubs being "great with mishits."

Of course the problem with the McIlroy Nike ad is that it simply does not inspire any sense of amazement or awe about his ability. He's obviously a great and likeable guy but not a riveting personality so there's nothing to show off there either. The only one to show some semblance of skill is Paul Casey and his clip isn't even one take - there's an edit in the middle of this trick. What exactly is the point of this ad? This seems to be Nike coasting.

Of course Casey's trick to the neck and futbol/soccer kick brings European Tour professional Gareth Maybin's trick shot video from a couple years back to mind.

Of course the futbol/soccer shots look cool juxtaposed against golf. In case you don't know, the European equivalent of those over-played long range basketball shot videos is virtually the same thing with a soccer ball. Remi Gaillard is one of the more famous guys that did the soccer trick shots (Gaillard is a French YouTube prankster and he does have one moment on the golf course in a kangaroo outfit, naturally). HOLE IN ONE Speaking of strange marketing, the European Tour recently went to the archives to release this video on their YouTube page.

The European Tour has certainly come a long way in 11 years and it's great to add to its video archive. Although, it is not exactly an campaign along the lines of the PGA's "These Guys Are Good" to show off a fluke shot. On the PGA, Jim Furyk had a nice hole-out last Sunday.

All this said, last week no hole-out or hole-in-one compared to this maniac. You can't even graze the lip with this kind of shot.

FINAL LOOK BACK AT THE MASTERS

During the Masters par-3 contest, there is a semi-tradition of letting caddies take a shot. If you recall, tennis pro and girlfirend Caroline Wozniacki caddies for McIlroy.

Let's chalk this up to the switch to Nike clubs. I bet Wozniacki hits it pure with McIlroy's old Titleist irons.

We've exhaustively analyzed the penalty and ruling on Woods. With penalties at the forefront, this video comes mind (and I would say even more likely with a long-putter!).

GRAEME DOESN'T CRACK - DAT BOY GOOD

David Dusek with great description of McDowell's clubs for his win this weekend ... for one billion dollars

Graeme McDowell's had a nice win at Harbour Town this weekend over Webb Simpson in a somewhat un-dramatic playoff hole. For gearheads, David Dusek of GolfWeek (channeling some Doctor Evil) has a nice description of McDowell's bag. McDowell's mix of irons is the most interesting because they don't really even seem to sell Srixon irons anymore (after a quick look at both North American, UK, European and Japanese sites for Srixon/Cleveland).

McDowell's victory a victory for all McDowell's who have all suffered enough. Consider it a victory for those who do not like seeds on their buns.

This is really just a segue to get to the main point: a reference to some amazing company called UNDRCRWN, where you can pick up a these amazing McDowells t-shirts and so much more [we do not do paid endorsements ... just love the shirts].

MAJOR NEXT

Although we still have the PLAYERS in May, the next big event is the US Open at Merion. Here's a very early little taste.