PGA Tour

Shane Bacon golf mailbag: Make no mistake, 2016 has started

Published Dec. 17, 2015 12:12 p.m. ET

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Shane Bacon

Well, it’s officially here. Well, unofficially “officially” here. The golf offseason. No more wraparound events before the New Year, no more Australia visits or Hero starts or father-son battles.

Last week at the Franklin Templeton Shootout, Matt Kuchar stopped by to chat with some of the FOX announcers and said that Greg Norman’s event used to be a final chapter in his season, one last event before taking some time away, and now, with the season extended like it is, it’s really prep for 2016 as Hawaii lingers just three weeks away.

But the offseason shouldn’t be discounted. Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed are two players who have taken full advantage of this time of year in the past, and it seems every season we have someone emerge out of this October-January schedule and use it as a jumping board to success when the calendar actually changes (Reed might be that guy again this year with the way he’s played ... 94-under par over his last six worldwide events before getting to Naples, Fla., last week).

And with the Rory McIlroy eye surgery, the Jordan Spieth “Happy Gilmore” swing and the fact that Tiger Woods is about to turn 40, it isn’t exactly a dead time with our favorite golfers.

With all that said, it’s mailbag time. As always, get in touch via Facebook or through Twitter whenever you have a good question and we will try to get it posted. Here we go ...

Bacon: My dad was always good about getting me some sort of golf club I wanted for Christmas during my younger days (I still remember the 975D and the Tight Lies fairway wood when those things were MUST HAVES), but for some reason, the TaylorMade Titanium Bubble driver I got one year is the one that has always stuck in my mind.

It was absolutely beautiful, the bubble shaft concept was perfect for kids because it seemed cool, and I remember unwrapping it, sitting patiently for the rest of the presents to be opened, and then immediately running out to the backyard and hitting it into one of those nets we had set up back there. I think it was about the fourth or fifth swing that I put a dummy mark on the top of it that never came off, so my enjoyment of the flawless driver lasted about 45 seconds.

I think my least favorite gift ever was that bathroom putter thing, because on paper it actually does seem like something that is a funny gift for golfers. But anyone who has ever pulled that thing out of the box knows the enjoyment doesn’t last long. I think it’s a perfect gag gift, but in terms of usefulness, it never hit home with me.

Also, our FOX Sports Golf gift guide is right here, so ignore my shameless plug and check it out if you still haven’t picked something up for that golfer in your life.

Bacon: Wait, I can’t pick Augusta? Why, Jamie?!? Why???

I think Bay Hill and the Memorial are no-brainers. Any chance you get to play an event put on by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, you have to do it.

I would throw in the Waste Management Open as well because I live in Phoenix and know the golf course. It would be fun to be in that environment for a couple of days with the pros, plus I would love to have my inebriated friends follow me for a few holes and bet on when they’d actually start heckling me (over/under is the fifth hole, and I’m taking the under).

While the Players Championship is probably the most prestigious of the tournaments available to pick, I’ve played TPC Sawgrass before and it kicked my tail like a very hungry bully. So I think I’m going to bypass that, especially when you consider your score has to be five to seven shots worse than normal with the pressure and the crowds surrounding you. (Plus, could you imagine hitting a couple in the drink on 17 as an amateur? I might not finish the hole if the wheels started to fall off!)

I think my fourth pick would be Pebble Beach. While the rounds are long and the greens can be bumpy late in the day, the environment surrounding the event and the fact there would be other amateurs there who would be way worse at golf than me would be extra calming. Plus, you’re getting to play an amazing grouping of golf courses for three or four days, so that would be an added bonus.

My final pick? The Barracuda Championship. That’s right, give me a little modified Stableford and who knows what would actually happen. I think with this type of scoring, I would actually have a chance to play half-decent for a couple of days, with blow-up holes not really being a thing (after you miss that putt for bogey, just pick up because it’s the same as making a 15 on a hole).

The first two picks are because you can’t pass up any opportunity to be around Jack and Arnie. The Waste Management is a home-town choice. I think Pebble Beach would be a special week, and the Barracuda is simply to see what would happen if I got a chance to go out and play aggressive golf at the most unique event of the year in terms of scoring.

Bacon: Funny you ask this because I just got back from a golf trip in early November that absolutely blew my no-show socks off. I’ve been to Pebble and Bandon and Streamsong and Cabot, and they are all breathtaking and must-visits, but if you are looking for affordable golf, try St. George, Utah.

I got invited to go check it out without really knowing anything about the area, but my word, what an assortment of fun and beautiful golf courses that won’t break the bank.

Sand Hollow was the best we played, with the back nine being about as beautiful a back-nine without an ocean that you’ll ever play.

But it isn’t just Sand Hollow. I loved the Ledges, Coral Canyon was a fun 18 holes, Sky Mountain was beautiful, Sunbrook was solid, and we didn’t even play Entrada at Snow Canyon, which some think might be the best golf course in Utah.

The 15th at Sand Hollow is a pretty amazing par-3.

The bonus about a St. George golf trip is it’s affordable, it’s convenient (flights come in from Denver and Salt Lake City), and there is plenty to do around the area in terms of hiking, golfing and hanging out.

I joined the Golf Getaway guys on their podcast talking St. George, but it’s definitely a hidden gem for golf trips and one I would suggest to anyone trying to plan something.

One other fun spot is Prairie Club in Nebraska. It isn’t really close to anything, so prepare yourself for a lengthy drive, but both courses are unique, fun and challenging (a tough combo to pull off). The par-three course is great (Called the H-O-R-S-E Course because there aren’t assigned holes per se, just tees and greens and your creative mind to pick which one is next), and they just put in a big putting challenge that wraps around pine trees and adds another evening option if you don’t want to go out and swing it again.

Bacon: Umm, Michael, it is NEVER too soon to be excited about the Masters, especially coming off the major season we had in 2015.

I did one of those Twitter polls (because I live a rich and full life) asking who would win more tournaments in ’16, and the answers were pretty interesting:

My one point about being excited about Augusta National instead of all the events leading up to Augusta is that you’re missing out on a ton of potentially awesome golf tournaments.

Before the Masters last year, Reed, Walker, Spieth, Dustin Johnson, J.B. Holmes, Jason Day, Brandt Snedeker, Brooks Koepka and Bill Haas had already won, to name a few. That’s the current Nos. 1 and 2 in the world and four of the top 10 in the world rankings.

The Masters is going to be epic, with Spieth going in with a second and a first in his last two starts at Augusta and Rory entering with a green jacket itch he really needs to scratch -- not to mention Day, a man who has nearly won the Masters twice since 2011.

But don’t look past the start of the season. We will know a lot more about who to put atop our lists after three months of the PGA Tour season.

Bacon: I’m actually going to be posting all four of my major picks before we get to the Masters, so stay tuned for that, but a couple of names I really like in the majors this year are Kuchar and Louis Oosthuizen.

I think it could be a big year for both of them, with Kuchar headed to Oakmont with two straight T-12s in U.S. Opens, and Oosthuizen one round away from running away with the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay (that first-round 77 was brutal considering how he played the final three days) and nearly winning a second straight British Open at St. Andrews.

Bacon: At this point, I don’t see a huge fall-off from Spieth. He is just too solid through the bag (and between the ears) to have a big letdown season.

Check out some of the numbers Spieth has put up since turning professional: On the PGA Tour since the start of 2013, he has played in 76 PGA Tour events and has finished in the top 25 an astonishing 51 times. He has 33 top 10s in that same span to go with his six wins and two majors and has only missed seven cuts in his last two full seasons.

Basically all of this tells you what you already know; Spieth is a machine unlike anything else on the PGA Tour. Rory’s A-game might be better than Spieth’s -- that’s an argument for another mailbag – but nobody can consistently do what Spieth is doing right now in golf.

What’s a good season for Spieth? Another major, two or three other PGA Tour wins and at least a run at Player of the Year. I think anything short of that would be disappointing. That being said, it’s easy to forget that at this time last year it was Rory who had won two straight majors and was the talk of the golf scene and the guy we expected to continue that momentum.

A bad season for Spieth is probably anything under two wins and no majors. He has molded himself to be prepared for the big ones, and considering how he played in all four in 2015, not winning one in ’16 would probably feel like a letdown.

Bacon: I don’t have to think too hard on this one.

My dream major season:

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