Video: Rory's Duck Hook

Who says you can't hit a duck hook with modern equipment?

The good news? No one was there to see Rory McIllroy show off his new equipment en route to an opening 75 in the HSBC at Abu Dhabi.

The bad news? Television was there.

Who would have guessed it's January?

Update on 2013-01-17 18:40 by Geoff

**Bob Harig addresses Rory's club change and short transition period in light of the opening round.

Although indications are that McIlroy knew he'd be making the switch as far back as September, the transition period has not been that long.

It is hard to imagine McIlroy working with the new clubs much when he still had tournaments to play and was contractually obligated to use the old ones. He visited Nike's testing center in Forth Worth, Texas, and got hooked up with all manner of apparatus to lock in launch angles and swing speeds and all the other technical stuff professional golfers endure to try and get their equipment just right.

Video: Even Tiger Cold Tops One Now And Then...

Thanks to reader Brian for the video link to this shot during first round play at Abu Dhabi. The shot was hit from the first tee (his tenth hole) during opening round play in the 2013 HSBC Golf Championship.

According to Golf Channel's Tiger Tracker it went 200 yards.

Watch it before the inevitable copyright claim.

Update on 2013-01-17 16:43 by Geoff

**Alistair Tait was there and documents the rusty start for both Tiger and Rory. His description of the above shot for the days after the video is scrubbed.

I think we can all relate to this feeling:

Woods hit a drive that would have embarrassed many high-handicappers. He hit an inch behind the ball and watched as it fell short of the fairway. The ball traveled only about 150 yards. Woods’ fairway metal approach still came up 20 yards short, and he failed to get up-and-down for par. “My whole game plan was to hit 3-iron or 5-wood on that hole,” Woods said. “I changed my game plan and wasn’t committed to the shot. I didn’t want to hit it. I was really fighting over that tee shot and should have backed off it.”

Rory & Tiger Show; Abu Dhabi TV Times

Hey, I just copy and paste this stuff from Golf Channel, but here are their times for the HSBC from Abu Dhabi where Tiger, Rory and many other big names kick off their 2013 season. Another great night to live on the west coast!

Tiger and Rory are paired together as well, going early/late.

Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship
Dates: Jan. 16-20
Venue: Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
                
Airtimes (Eastern):   
Wednesday     10:30 p.m.-8 a.m. (Live)
Thursday         10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. / 11 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (Round One Replay)
Friday              2:30-8 a.m. (Live) / 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. / 1:30-4 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday          4-8 a.m. (Live) / 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. / 1:30-4 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday            4- 8 a.m. (Live) / 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. / 1:30-4 a.m. (Replay)
                                                                                             
Tournament Field Notes:

- Woods and McIlroy Make 2013 Debuts – The world’s number one and two players, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, begin their 2013 season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

- Headlining the Field – The field also includes Ernie Els, Martin Kaymer, Jason Dufner, Justin Rose, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Branden Grace, Thomas Bjorn, Francesco Molinari, Peter Hanson, Edoardo Molinari, Colin Montgomerie, Matteo Manassero, Henrik Stenson, Alexander Noren, Paul Casey, Robert Rock and Todd Hamilton.

Whoa Files: How About That Trophy, Nelson Mandela Edition

Mark Garrod reports on the Euro Tour's Nelson Mandela Championship where they played Royal Durban as a 5,594-yard par-65 due to flooding, prompting Jason Sobel to suggest this was the first (albeit unintentional!) professional example of Tee It Forward.

But what caught my eye: the Getty Image accompanying the story.

I thought winner Scott Jamieson was doing a complicated ventriloquist act featuring former President Mandela talking to graduates of the The First Tee and then, well, I realized some South Africans just went an ambitious direction with their trophy design.

At Least It's Not Dubai: Turkey Eyes 2022 Ryder Cup Bid

And as Bernie McGuire reports, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose supported the idea when asked about Ahmet "Head Butt" Agaoglu's desire to launch a Turkish Golf Federation supported bid.  Of course the lads are both carrying quite a bit of cash from their recent visit there, so it would rude to say otherwise.

As you know, it's a European Tour tradition to hang a for sale sign on their most important event, regardless of course quality and as we learned not long ago, location.  Dubai was kicked around as a possibility, before sanity prevailed. And since Turkey is also not a European union member, it might take some convincing to send the Ryder Cup there.