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Graphite Design has held the number one driver shaft position on the Japanese tour for over 5 years running. This year is no different and their share has in fact increased thanks to the popularity and usage of the new Tour AD DI Series. The Orange DI is seen all over the Japanese men's tour helping push Graphite Design's share up to 35.8%. Japanese pros are flocking to the DI also know as Deep Impact thanks to its low spin and big distance performance.

Ryo Ishikawa and his DI-8TX leads more than 20 pros on the men's tour using the DI in their drivers. Tourstage's Katsumasa Miyamoto notes that the DI's strong trajectory and low spin are the equation for big distance. Ishikawa also notes that at impact, with the DI shaft, the head has no play or wobble creating clean square impact for max smash factor.

The popularity of the DI on tour has also led to huge sales in the Japanese market for the DI thanks to it being available as the upgrade option for many of Japan's top drivers.

So how about the ladies tour? Golf Today also put together some recent data on the driver shafts of some top lady pros JLPGA and LPGA and its interesting to see what shafts, weights and flexes they play.

Lorena Ochoa: Diamana Blueboard S53 Stiff
Ji Yai Shin: Fujikura Rombax 5X07 Stiff
Ai Miyzato: Tour Design by Graphite Design Tour AD B03-03W stiff
Momoko Ueda: Graphite Design Tour AD PT-6 Stiff/Regular
Chie Arimura: Graphite Design Tour AD EV-5 Regular (pictured above)
Sakura Yokomine: XXIO MP600 Stiff
Shinobu Moromizato: Graphite Design Tour AD Prototype Stiff
Miho Koga: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC6.0 Stiff
Rui Kitada: Roddio Tricross Stiff
Mayu Hattori: Fujikura Rombax 5Z08 Stiff
In Bee Park: Graphite Design Tour AD PT-6 Stiff/Regular
Michelle Wie: Grafalloy ProLaunch Platinum X-Stiff
Karrie Webb: Nippon NS Pro Prototype (Regio) Stiff
Son Jyu An: Graphite Design Tour AD DI-5 Regular
Eun Hee Ji: Fujikura Rombax 5X07 Stiff
Son Hee Kim: UST Proforce V2 57 Stiff
Yuko Mitsuka: Diamana ilima X-Stiff
Yani Tseng: Fujikura Motore F1 65 Stiff
Cristie Kerr: Graphite Design Tour AD MD-6 Stiff
Na Yeon Choi: Diamana Whiteboard D63 Regular
Suzanne Petterson: Project X-6B6 Stiff
Brittany Lincicome: Graphite Design Tour AD DI-6 Stiff

Data from May 2010

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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( Thank you Ottawa Golf Blog )

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I'm fairly sure every single person that's important and makes decisions on the PGA Tour better be thanking their lucky stars, and thanking Tiger Woods handily for doing what they really hoped each and every big golfer on the tour would do over this golf season:  Step up and play in more events.  If you remember back, near the beginning of this PGA Season, Commissioner Tim Finchem publicly asked each and every golfer to step up and try to do more for their sponsors given the economic climate and yes, crisis that had been surrounding everything.

All Players Stepped It Up...Tiger Too

Step up they did, and one of the golfers that did a whole heck of a lot more stepping up than anyone anticipated was indeed, Tiger Woods.  Now, he's stepping up again and signing on for sure to play in one event he hasn't played since 2003, and rumor has it he might actually be playing in all four of the Playoff Events for the FedEx Cup.  That's right, he's officially signed on for the Barclays Tournament, which takes place Thursday Aug. 27 – Sunday Aug 30, 2009 at the Liberty National golf course in Jersey City, NJ.  As mentioned, it's been YEARS since Tiger has played this event, and if the rumors are true that he's actually planning on competing in all four of the Playoff events, he'll have played 7 times in a 9-week stretch that goes all the way back to his performance at the Buick Open.

New Points System Enticing Tiger?

Possibly, but not positively affecting Tiger's decision to play is a new points system that actually ends up penalizing the golfer for taking weeks off, making it more difficult to bounce back.  Saying that, it didn't affect Tiger's decision in 2007, so it remains to be seen exactly why he agreed to play this time around.  Obviously last year he missed due to his knee surgery.

Tourney Director Sounds Off...

So what did the Barclays tournament director have to say about Tiger's decision?  Plenty of glowing compliments and excitement:

"The Barclays has been an exciting kickoff to the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup each of the first two years. Having Tiger in the field this year will, no doubt, bring even more excitement to the tournament..."

Now we just have to wait to see who else will be part of the 125-man field.  We'll know after the Wyndham Championship ends.  No matter what, all eyes will be on Tiger.

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Talk about your all time dream pairings!  While I'm sure this rumored pairing has both people involved equally excited for the prospect, it's got to be a little intimidating to both of them, for very different reasons.  That's right, rumors are spreading like wildfire that President Barack Obama is planning a little golf round with none other than golf's finest golfer, Tiger Woods.  Now step back and imagine the pressure on each person:  First, Tiger Woods is getting to golf with the President of the United States of America.  With that comes the Secret Service, the formalities, and then the issue as to whether or not you let him win.  Knowing Tiger, don't count on that to happen.  Now, if you're President Obama, there's the pressure of having to tee off with arguably the best golfer the sport has ever known, or will ever know.

Secret Service On The Course

That's right, rumors are spreading, Secret Service has been seen scoping out and patrolling the course and people are talking.  According to reports:

"...word here on the Vineyard is that the Secret Service has scoped out the oh-so-exclusive Vineyard Golf Club to prepare for a possible golf outing between President Obama and golf great Tiger Woods!"

No Official Confirmation Yet

While nothing has been officially confirmed by either Tiger Woods or the White House, it actually would make sense if this were to come true.  It fits snugly into Tiger Woods' schedule as he's not scheduled to take part in the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Norton until September 4th and President Obama is going to still be on holiday until August 30th.  Whether or not the two actually hook up for 18 holes we'll have to wait and see, but what an exciting match-up if they do!

Stay Tuned For More...

Obama has been practicing and reports put his handicap anywhere between 16 and 24.  Assuming he plays with Tiger, we'll hope he takes the 24.  Nevertheless, this is one worth finding out more info on, and in the event they do play, I'm sure we will track down photos!

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Here's something that's a bit out of the ordinary for this Wednesday, but was a question raised by golf.com amongst others.  Anyone that has ever played this amazing game of golf knows that while it can be the most rewarding sport on the planet, but a single shot later and you could be feeling like it's the worst invention man has ever thought up.  When those "bad days" on the golf course happen, controlling your reactions to those poor shots can be nearly impossible.  Knowing this, whether or not golf pros should be able to vocally and verbally express their anger at the quality of their play is being debated, and it's being debated because of the actions and behavior of golf's most high profile golfer:  Tiger Woods.

Tiger's Fireworks at British Raised Eyebrows

If you tuned in at all to the British Open, you know exactly what we're talking about.  How Tiger performed is no secret, but what the cameras did their best to hide, was his reactions to that play.  An errant drive led to him hitting his golf bag with his club.  A missed putt lead to him throwing the putter and dropping the "f" word; a bad shot from the fairway and you heard any number of profanities.  The question we're left asking, and apparently golf.com agrees, is why in the world is the PGA and their cameras doing their best to hide these reactions?  I'm sorry, but the one thing I took home from the movie Happy Gilmore, is that if golf could use one thing, more than all other things, it'd be Passion.  Golf needs more fire, more excitement, more drama and yes, more REactions.  Golf needs every golfer to want to win so bad that one bad shot leads to a 5-iron soaring through the air.

We React, Why Can't They?

If you think to the last time you played, the people you played with and the other golfers populating the course, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone Not reacting to their play.  It's natural to want to play well, it's natural to react when you don't.  Why then are we expecting those with the most skill in the world to not react when they don't display that skill?  I understand the need to censor the words being said, but why hide the emotions themselves?

PGA Tour Needs More Fire

Our advice:  Let golfers be human too.  The PGA Tour needs an infusion of emotion, passion and fire.  Stop worrying about the reactions, stop filtering the drama and let golf be even greater.

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You know that thing that almost NEVER happens?  That thing where when Tiger Woods is leading going into the final round of a golf tournament, he just can't lose it?  That thing where when it comes to a major, if Tiger has a window of opportunity to win it, he never fails to take it?  Yeah, that thing.  Well it happened.  That's right, Y.E. Yang, a golfer who only nine months ago was in PGA Qualifying School, upset Tiger and shocked the world when he beat the world's best golfer and stole the PGA Championship right out from underneath his nose.

Tiger's Final Putt Means Nothing

How strange a sight to see Tiger Woods hunched over his final putt on the 18th hole knowing that whether or not it went in meant absolutely nothing.  Nothing for good and nothing for bad, just nothing.  How strange to watch him sink that putt and not hear the crowd erupt and Tiger fist pump and watch him hoist the trophy.  How strange and yet how completely exciting, for golf and for Yang.

Yang Plays Great, Woods Plays Terrible

The victory for Yang came for two main reasons.  First, Yang played exceptional golf capped off with an 18th hole that no one, anywhere, will forget.  His 3-iron approach to the green saved the tournament for him as much as the chip in eagle on the 14th set it up.  Combine this with the fact that Tiger Woods shot the single worst round of golf in the final round of the major when he was in the last group, a 75.  This, my friends, is a powerful recipe for a David vs. Goliath style slaying, and Yang took advantage of it to beat Woods by 3 strokes.  Impressive?  We know so.

Yang Sounds Off...

Once Yang was interviewed, it became clear just how his mindset going into the final round truly set him up for victory.  When asked, here's what Yang had to say:

"It’s not like you’re in an octagon where you’re fighting against Tiger and he’s going to bite you, or swing at you with his 9-iron...The worst that I could do was just lose to Tiger. So I really had nothing much at stake."

Congratulations To Yang

Looks like the pressure of having everything to lose, and being expected to win trumps a man with nothing to lose, and everything to gain.  Congratulations Yang, well played, well deserved and extremely impressive!  Thanks for the wild ride.

(Image Greenwood/Getty Images)

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Everyone is trying, it's just no one has actually been able to do much of anything about Tiger Wood's three-stroke lead on the field at the 2009 PGA Championship.  What's equally as impressive, is that he has a three-stroke lead over a field where most of the players chasing him are either holes ahead of him, or already wrapping up their 3rd rounds, and Tiger is only on the first hole.  Dominating?  We think so.

Round 3 Scores Following First 2 Round Trend

Scores continue to stay not exceedingly low in Round 3, as they did in Round 1 and 2, but at this current moment, Tiger indeed leads at -7, while the closest man to him is Lucas Glover at -4 and a whole slew of golfers stuck at -3.  Can Tiger hold out and do what he always does...lead a golf tournament going into Round 3 and pull it out for the victory?  Too early to tell, yes, but I certainly wouldn't bet against him.

Phil Mickelson at +4

Another interesting group to watch today was Phil Mickelson's, as he just squeaked by and made the cut at +4, but was unable to do much of anything positive today.  He just couldn't seem to get his putter actually working and watched as his first and second round 74's were complimented with a third round 78.  In a very Un-Phil turn of events, he's sitting at +8 right now and 100% out of contention.  Needless to say, it's still a great show of both bravery and heart that he's even playing in this tournament, and I'm sure each and every hat at the PGA Tour is off to him.  No matter what you score Phil, we're rooting for you.

Weather Permitting, A Great Round 3

All we have to do now is hope that the weather that's slated to roll into Minnesota today holds on just long enough for Tiger and Vijay to finish their third rounds.  It could be extremely interesting to see how the two play together, as they haven't always been, well, friendly to each other when it comes to competitive fire.  Perhaps the combination of the two will spark some of the best golf we've seen all week.  Tune in, it's worth it.

(Image Clary/Getty Images)

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Round 2 is off and running and a great deal of golfers are already sitting in the clubhouse, watching the remaining leaders from Round 1 just get started.  If you step back and take a peek at the leaderboard you'll notice something immediately:  Scores today are not that good, not that good at all.  The simple fact that yesterday's leaders are still in the lead today, despite the fact that they were last to tee-off, are only on hole 2, and the majority of the other golfers have already finished their round should tell you something.

Tiger & Paddy Still Lead

That's right, Padraig Harrington and Tiger Woods, despite only just starting their rounds, are still in the lead by a stroke today.  Round 2 has barely started for them, but the not-too-impressive scoring of their competitors today means the lead is 100% theirs to lose from hole 2, to hole 18.  Just how bad has scoring been?  Try this on for size:

"Of the players who are already in, only two of them -- Ernie Els and Tim Clark -- have managed to break 70...Els carded a 68, making five birdies and just one bogey on the par-4 finishing hole. Clark did the same, though Els is in better position at 1 under overall and Clark even par through the first 36 holes"

Phil In Danger of Missing Cut

Yikes.  Speaking of trouble, Phil Mickelson looks like he'll have have to keep his fingers crossed as tightly as they can possibly be crossed to even make the cut and advance to Round 3 tomorrow.  Currently, the cut line is sitting right at +3 and after back-to-back 74's to start his PGA Championship, Phil is a stroke behind that line.  It is completely understandable that he would be struggling, after taking so much time off and with so much on his mind, no one would have ever expected his head to be entirely on the PGA Tour.

Tune In Now, Watch Tiger & Harrington

Nevertheless, it's the best time to tune in right now, a great deal of golfers are already done and Tiger and Padraig are just heating up.  What this translates for us, is more time following their group, less following the groups we are not quite as interested in.  Can't beat that, now can you?

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Can Tiger make it 5?  Can Phil turn things around and add some much needed and long awaited joy to his weekend?  Who will be the annual surprise?  All these questions are just waiting to be answered this weekend, the most exciting weekend in the entire last half of the PGA Tour season and by all accounts, so far so good.  That's right, Round 1 at the PGA Championship at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota has officially kicked off and a little over half the field is already either out on the course or already in the clubhouse and posting their scores.

Tiger Out In Force

One of those golfers who is already out on the course, just so happens to be tied for the lead.  Tiger Woods looks to be in his final round of the Bridgestone form so far on the course and through his initial 13 holes has captured a tie for the lead at -4.  That is great news for Tiger but could potentially be terrible news for the rest of the field.  It's been showing that in tournaments that Tiger starts off strong, he generally keeps that mojo flowing throughout the rest of the weekend and more often than not, wins the tournament.  We all know his amazing record when he leads after 54 holes, so for Tiger, and for the rest of the competition, it is a race to that 54th hole, all trying to come out on top.

Hazeltine = Longest Course on Tour

One thing to keep in mind today, and for the rest of the weekend is that Hazeltine does play as the longest golf course on the PGA Tour this season.  It's a course that demands big drives, big fairway wood or long iron shots and I suppose that should make it not very surprising that sitting all around the top of the leaderboard right now, including Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson, who is third on the PGA Tour's driving distance list, and Alvaro Quiros, who averages 315.6 yards off the tee is sitting at -3.

Even The Little Hitters Can Compete

As PGATour mentions however, this course is so long that it can often negate any driving distance advantage, with par 5's that are so long that no one, repeat no one, can reach them in two.  This explains why guys who can't blast it off the tee are still able to compete and give it a solid run for its money.

Phil Ready To Tee Off

That said, it's getting great out there, and Phil is getting closer to his tee-off time.  If you're not tuning in already to catch Tiger's last few holes, at least tune in to catch Phil's performance today.

(image via Greenwood/Getty Images)

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We all know the questionable decision by the course official to put both Padraig Harrington and Tiger Woods on the clock during the last few holes, of the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational.  We all know what happened after that clock was put into effect, Tiger hit a breathtaking shot into the green, Padraig, who was leading at the time, didn't.  His rushed play on that hole ended up as a triple bogey and effectively gave the tournament away to Tiger Woods, who then notched his 70th victory on the PGA Tour.

Tiger Gets Vocal

What you might not have heard, was that in a press conference after the event Tiger Woods, who is usually quite diplomatic and polite after events, was quite vocal and even called out, by name, the official who put them on the clock and rushed them both.  The decision, he believed, changed everything in the tournament, and here's what Tiger Woods had to say about the clock decision:

"[W]e were the only two in contention to win the event...We had separated ourselves. The winner... was going to come from our group, and we were having a great battle. That's why I said what I said, because that certainly affected how Paddy played the hole. He was one up with three holes to go, and we were put on the clock. It certainly changed everything."

No Fine for Tiger Woods

After these statements, reports surfaced that Tiger Woods might be facing a fine for his comments, as there is a section in the PGA Tour Handbook that basically says there is "an obligation of membership to refrain from comments to the news media that unreasonably attack or disparage tournaments, sponsors, fellow members, players or PGA Tour.” Thankfully, those reports were false and Tiger is not going to be fined for his opinion.

Padraig Blames Himself

Regardless of what Tiger thought, Padraig refused to blame anyone but himself for his play and his reaction to the official's decision.  It's interesting to see Tiger fighting harder for Padraig than Padraig fighting for himself.  Nevertheless, no fine, no foul and tomorrow we start the PGA Championships...we can't wait.

(image Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)