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InsideGOLF

The Social 7: Tiger gets denied pizza, Reed and Spieth make up

January 28, 2019

Welcome to the Social 7, where Tim Reilly or Rachel Bleier of GOLF’s social media team will dive into the good, bad, crazy, insane, viral, hilarious — well, you get the picture — of the past week on social media.

1. It’s not the NBA, but golf’s shoe subculture is strong. And when awesome new Jordans get leaked on social media, you better believe the golf “sneakerheads” go nuts. Enter the new Air Jordan 11 “Concord” golf shoes, which surfaced this week. These Jordans feature Nike’s React Vapor 2 tooling and foam cushioning for extreme, all-day comfort. The shoes are set for a limited release on Feb. 15 and will go for $220 a pair. Good luck snagging some.

2. Golf is hard work and hard work makes people hungry, including Tiger Woods. Earlier this week during the Farmers Insurance Pro-Am, Woods found himself in need of a snack. Between shots, he wandered over to a tent serving pizza only to be told by a nervous worker “Uh…sorry, they aren’t letting us serve right now.” KUSI journalist Brandon Stone captured the pizza rejection on camera and it instantly went viral (although Stone later said he had to take it down). Woods laughed off the incident and later found a bowl of chili to satisfy his hunger.

3. This weekend, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed played their first round together since their very public breakup in Paris during the 2018 Ryder Cup. Paired together for the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open, the two greeted each other warmly with a big hug and praised each other afterward. It was a moment that many golf fans had been waiting for. Could this hug mark the potential reconciliation of America’s best Ryder Cup pairing come 2020? Talking about it after the round, Reed said “Jordan and I are still really good friends.”

4. This week the golf industry descended on Orlando, Fla., for the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show. Everything from a robotic golf swing trainer to electric motorbikes to golden drivers was on display. Naturally, some of the more exciting and outlandish items took off on social like Sun Mountain’s FinnCycle and Daiwa’s $2,200 gold plated driver. There were plenty of amazing new toys, gadgets, gizmos, apparel and more.

5. You’ve seen and heard of players being mic’d up, but have you ever heard of fans being mic’d up? This week, Bryson DeChambeau was playing in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, and the European Tour decided to mic up some fans who’d never seen him play. They commented on everything from his odd single-plane swing to his choice of snack (a banana) and of course his decision to putt with the flag in. Don’t take our word for it though, see for yourself.

6. Despite his tepid performance during the first three rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open, Woods managed to make headlines on Sunday. He caught fire on the back nine and made five birdies in his last eight holes, but he got attention for another reason: his shirt. Tiger wore a white and red (or salmon or pink or whatever you want to call it) shirt that at first, and second and maybe third glance, did not look like his usual Sunday red. In what can only be described as a “Is this dress blue or gold?” moment, people took to social media to answer the question on everyone’s minds: Was Tiger’s shirt red or pink?

By the way, the jury is still out.

7. Last, but not least, GOLF.com’s Jonathan Wall launched the first episode of our new equipment podcast. Wall discussed Rose’s deal with Honma, Rickie Fowler’s switch to TaylorMade’s TP5X golf ball and much more. He also sat down with Sergio Garcia to discuss his transition to Callaway clubs, his career and his depth of wedge-grinding knowledge.

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