Latest news with #Vokey
USA Today
05-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 golf balls, Vokey Toe-Stamp wedges, RORS Proto irons and more
2025 golf balls, Vokey Toe-Stamp wedges, RORS Proto irons and more Find your ideal golf ball, learn about Vokey's new Toe Stamp wedges, check out TaylorMade's RORS Proto irons and more. Scottie Scheffler's win Sunday at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson marked the 10th time the world's No. 1 player has won a tournament using a TaylorMade Spider Tour X L-Neck putter. For years, mallet putters like the Spider Tour X—even mid-sized mallets—were viewed mainly as options for golfers looking for more forgiveness, especially those who missed the center of the face. And while mallets typically offer more stability than traditional blade putters, that's not why Scheffler made the switch. Two years ago, while the rest of Scheffler's game was rock solid, his putting was in a slump. As I wrote last season, he began experimenting with Spider models because their larger crowns made room for more prominent alignment aids. Why? Occasionally, Scheffler set up with the ball slightly toward the heel, rather than the center of the face. 'This Spider putter is really easy for me to line up,' Scheffler said before the 2024 Players Championship. 'I don't have to use the line on the ball. I line the putter up really well, and I line up in the middle of the face—pretty much as simple as that. Kind of gives me just a really good visual." The takeaway for recreational players: With today's variety of neck and hosel options, it's time to move past the idea that mallets are just for golfers who struggle with consistency. Modern mallet putters can be a fit for a wide range of putting strokes and preferences.
Japan Times
14-04-2025
- Climate
- Japan Times
'Hard on the body': Canadian troops train for Arctic defense
In normal conditions, Canadian Air Force helicopter pilot Jonathan Vokey uses the treeline to gauge his altitude. But in the Arctic, where the landing zone is an expanse of white snow, he has to adjust. "Operating in the cold, it's hard on the body, but it also can be challenging with the aircraft as well," Vokey, an Air Force captain, said during an exercise aimed at preparing Canadian troops to operate in the country's extreme north, a region fast becoming a military priority. Canada is making a significant push to boost its military strength in the Arctic, which accounts for 40% of its territory. Arctic ice is melting as a result of climate change, opening up the region and increasing the risk of confrontation with rivals such as Russia over the area's natural resources, including minerals, oil and gas, as well as fresh water. "If I was to boil it down: you can access the north now more easily than you have ever been able to. And I would say that that's going to change even more drastically over the next 10, 20 years," said Col. Darren Turner, joint task force commander of Operation Nanook, the annual Arctic training exercise established in 2007. "Once a route is opened, they will come. And that is something that we need to have an interest in. That is something that we need to have the capabilities to interdict, to stop," he said. That requires training more troops to operate in the region's extreme conditions and deploy to three Arctic military hubs that the government plans to build. Operation Nanook — the word for "polar bear" in an Inuit language — is central to that effort. In a long tent pitched on a vast sheet of ice and snow, troops practiced diving into frigid water. In another location, teams worked on detecting hostile activity with infrared imaging, a particular challenge in the Arctic where the cold can obscure thermal signatures. 'A little different' Dive team leader Jonathan Jacques Savoie said managing the brutal weather is key. "The main challenge on Op. Nanook in this location is the environment. The environment always dictates how we live, fight and move in the field," he said, noting the day's temperature of minus 26 degrees Celsius. This year's operation marked the first Arctic deployment for Corporal Cassidy Lambert, an infantry reservist. She's from the eastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador, where maritime Atlantic weather creates wet, damp winters. The Arctic, she conceded, is "going to be a little different." "I don't handle the cold too well, but I think I've prepped myself well enough," she said. Steven Breau, a rifleman with New Brunswick's North Shore regiment, said troops are trained on a range of region-specific safety measures, like avoiding frostbite. Sweat can also become a problem. "It's really important to stay dry, to take body heat into account. If you get too hot, you sweat. It gets wet, then it gets cold, then it freezes." 'Direct confrontation' The surrounding frozen tundra does not immediately look like the next front line in a looming global conflict. But leaders in multiple countries have put a spotlight on the Arctic. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Greenland, insisting the United States needs the autonomous Danish territory for its security. And days after taking over as Canada's Prime Minister last month, Mark Carney visited Iqaluit, in another part of the Canadian Arctic, to announce a multibillion-dollar radar deal he said would be crucial to securing the nation's sovereignty. Briefing troops arriving for Operation Nanook, Major Andrew Melvin said a direct confrontation with Chinese or Russian forces was "highly unlikely" during the exercise. But, he added, "it is possible that either the PRC (People's Republic of China) or the RF (Russian Federation) intelligence services will seek to collect intelligence during the conduct of Op. Nanook." For Col. Turner, protecting the Arctic from hostile actors means safeguarding a region that is inseparable from Canadian identity. "It's a part of our raison d'etre ... from a sovereignty perspective."
South China Morning Post
12-04-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
‘Hard on the body': Canadian troops battle brutal conditions to train for Arctic defence
In normal conditions, Canadian Air Force helicopter pilot Jonathan Vokey uses the tree line to gauge his altitude. But in the Arctic, where the landing zone is an expanse of white snow, he has to adjust. Advertisement 'Operating in the cold, it's hard on the body, but it also can be challenging with the aircraft as well,' Vokey, an Air Force captain, said during an exercise aimed at preparing Canadian troops to operate in the country's extreme north, a region fast becoming a military priority. Canada is making a significant push to boost its military strength in the Arctic, which accounts for 40 per cent of its territory. Arctic ice is melting as a result of climate change, opening up the region and increasing the risk of confrontation with rivals such as Russia over the area's natural resources, including minerals, oil and gas, as well as fresh water. Canadian soldiers set up camp during Operation Nanook in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, on March 2. Photo； AFP 'If I was to boil it down: you can access the north now more easily than you have ever been able to. And I would say that that's going to change even more drastically over the next 10, 20 years,' said Colonel Darren Turner, joint task force commander of Operation Nanook, the annual Arctic training exercise established in 2007.
USA Today
04-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Get Equipped: New Ping putters, Vokey wedges, Maxfli balls
Get Equipped: New Ping putters, Vokey wedges, Maxfli balls Learn everything you need to know about the new Ping Scottsdale putters, Vokey WedgeWorks 44F wedge, Maxfli's new urethane-covered balls and more As of today, there are 37 days until the opening round of the 2025 Masters Tournament, and while this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational and next week's Players Championship will command the full attention of the game's best players, the challenge of Augusta National looms and equipment preparations are starting to be made. Typically, golfers bring the 14 clubs they intend to use to a tournament, along with a backup driver and a backup putter. Some may bring either a high-lofted fairway wood or a driving iron too and make a game-time decision on which could be the most helpful based on the conditions and the course. But in the days and weeks ahead, golfers who know they will be competing in the Masters will likely get new sand wedges and lob wedges, practice with them once or twice, or maybe use them in a practice round before putting them away and saving them for Masters week. The thinking is that Augusta National's greens, tight ties and unique holes demand that players control the ball and use precision around the greens, so fresh, sharp grooves are a must. However, pros tend not to like using brand-new wedges because they are not always sure the bounce and sole configurations match what they want. A practice session or practice round can confirm that the wedges work properly and give a player confidence without wearing the grooves, and going through the process this week at Bay Hill or in the next few weeks means that if changes have to be made, everything will get done before the golf world descends upon Augusta. If you haven't swaped out your wedges, now might be the time to talk with a good custom fitter about which models match your game and the course conditions in your area. Wedges like the Callaway Opus, Cleveland RTZ, Cobra King, Mizuno T1, PXG Sugar Daddy, Ping s159, TaylorMade MG4, Titleist SM10 and Wilson Staff Model offer a variety of lofts, sole grinds and options that could help you develop a better short game this season.
