Over the Green

Those in the category of golf traditionalists are apt to at least frown when some of the modern styles appear on the course. Caps worn backwards, cargo shorts and flip flops don’t cut it unless worn by a six-year old. Therefore when confronted with a new golf shoe that bears a resemblance to the ubiquitous Crocs…well, you can understand.

Billed as the ‘World’s Lightest Golf Shoe’ Dawgs do have however some positive attributes and one of them is the weight. They are very light as promised, only about 7 ounces but best of all they are very comfortable due to a closed cell resin used in the sole to protect the heel and foot. Add a molded arch support and nine spike outsole and they are good alternative to traditional golf shoes. MORE…

There’s an old golf adage that says a good swing starts with a good grip. Even the best player of all time, Jack Nicklaus, thought that was true. Each year prior to start of the PGA Tour season the Golden Bear would visit Jack Grout, his mentor and coach since he was a boy, and they would go back to basics in order to prepare for the new year. The first basic Nicklaus and Grout checked? His grip.

If Nicklaus thought the grip was that important then the average weekend warrior should certainly pay attention.

Want more proof? In perhaps the most iconic golf instruction book ever, Ben Hogan’s “Five Lessons The Modern Fundamentals of Golf,” the Hawk devotes 19 pages to the grip. Any teaching professional will tell you what Hogan said in that 1957 opus is just as true today.

>>>>To read the rest of this story click on the title “Thumbs up” in Latest First Look Reviews above.

Adidas Golf’s slogan has always been intriguing. “We make equipment you play” can be taken not only as a fact but a mission statement too, kind of a cocky, pugnacious approach applied not to golf clubs or balls but to shoes, shirts and jackets.

The portion of the golf market for so called soft goods is competitive, intensely competitive but adidas has always stood for quality and performance and innovation. So for 2010 they are breaking new ground by introducing a top of the line shoe and apparel brand named adiPURE that is sure to attract a lot of attention. MORE…

June 20th is Father’s Day and as it often does this annual celebration of male parenting falls on a significant day in the golf calendar…the final Sunday of the U.S. Open. Though Father’s Day/Open Sunday does not always mean dad will get to relax in front of the television, his hands grasping a favorite wedge or adult beverage, gift givers can make his day memorable.

A couple of quick ideas for the golfing father are in order beginning with an annual Titleist promotion, dad’s name on his Titleists at no extra charge. This customization special is good for orders of the Pro V1, Pro V1x, NXT Tour, NXT and DT Solo balls, one dozen minimum. See any Titleist retailer for details. MORE…

Loiter a while near the first tee of any course in America and you quite probably will come to the conclusion a lot of American golfers have no sense of style, are apathetic about what they wear or both. Men and, truth be told even some ladies, tee it up in unstylish, unflattering even ugly attire.

However these unstylish and unflattering problems can be fixed and joining the “look great – play great” movement is only a matter of paying attention to what’s current. To make that conversion from mundane to modern easier a company popular in Europe has introduced to America their line of stylish and what some might say cutting edge apparel. MORE…

Bushnell Outdoor Products has the top reputation in the laser range finder business and upped the competitive ante with the introduction of the new Pro 1600 last year. We put the Pro 1600 Tournament Edition up against two other laser range finders and it finished on top by a wide margin.

The Pro 1600 had two outstanding features revealed in the comparison. First was the comfortable way it fits the hand combined with the 7X magnification made it very quick and easy to use, not always the case with some laser range finders. MORE…

Like so many new products the Eazy Bag was the result of an idea of people not in the golf business, Lisa and Tim Dylina are just avid players who came up with a solution that solves a number of problems associated with every golf bag.

Their Eazy Bag has an opening in the front solving the first problem many women and seniors have…getting a club in and out of a typical bag when mounted on a golf cart. The front opening allows for the club to come out at an angle rather than only vertically, so for someone with limited range of shoulder or arm movement not to mention shorter golfers, it’s a real benefit. MORE…

When golf’s governing bodies, the USGA and R&A, decided to allow the use of distance measuring devices (DMDs) there was wide spread applause led by the makers of laser range finders and GPS receivers. This wasn’t a blanket permission since a local rule has to be in place and DMDs can’t be used for USGA championships. But nevertheless it was progress and recognition of the fact technology has replaced yardage books and pin sheets.

There are restrictions though on the use of some really neat stuff found on some models of DMDs. Only the measurement of yardage is allowed – not wind speed nor ground slope nor temperature – but at least golfers are allowed to post scores for calculating handicaps from rounds played using a DMD.

Good so far but a joint statement from the USGA and the R&A says,

Multi-functional devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, etc (i.e., devices that are primarily communication devices, but which may have other potential uses) may be used as follows:
The device may be used for any non-golfing purpose (e.g., as a communication tool to phone, text or email), subject to any club/course regulations and the rules on accessing advice-related matters – see Decision 14-3/16.
When the local rule is in effect, a distance-measuring application may be used, provided the specific application is restricted to “distance only” and the device does not have any other “non-conforming” features. This is the case even if these other features are not being used. As above, the rules on advice-related communications (including the use of the internet) still apply.

The bottom line is it’s OK to use your iPhone to talk to your mother or as a GPS DMD. But if it also has an app for measuring slope, i.e. a level or a clinometer, even if the app is not turned on, you aren’t allowed to use the iPhone GPS distance measurement app.

The irony is it’s permissible to use your iPhone to access the Internet for a swing tip but not to call you club pro for a quick swing fix. Go figure.

Golf and the technology of global positioning or GPS have had a beneficial marriage for awhile and as in most marriages the relationship changes over time. The service giving yardages to the green, hazards and even exact hole locations has become much less expensive and is therefore gaining in popularity.

All systems provide distances from say the top of a bunker to the front edge of a green by satellite signal triangulation with the course layout provided either with plotting points (such the green edge) determined from walking the course and or measured on photo images taken by a satellite. MORE…

Here’s the second installment of my suggestions for gifts to golfers.

Five – the Best?
After all the noise about the roll back of the permissible groove cross sectional area to those of 60 years ago little has been said about the response by ball manufacturers to the lower spin rates that will be generated by short irons. TaylorMade Golf has leaped into that discussion with the first 5-layer golf ball. The Penta TP is aimed at the professional/top amateur end of the market but you and I both know that only means you will see them in play by every weekend hacker you run into. At $45.99 per dozen, they are available in limited quantities.

Expensive But Worth It
Miura Golf is known as maybe the top maker of irons in the world; a bold statement to be sure, however just ask those who have a set. The company just entered the utility/hybrid market with the Precious line of hybrids and they are as good as their irons. Available in lofts of 17, 20 and 23 degrees the ball flight is a mid to high launch angle and there’s lots of weight in the sole so getting the ball air borne is no problem. With the standard graphite shaft you can be Precious for $239.

Perfect Fit
Though not strictly a holiday promotion, Etonic has a footwear and glove promotion that’s a perfect fit for gifting. Buy a pair of Etonic shoes from the recently introduced 2010 line and get a free Perfect Fit golf glove (MSRP $18) at no charge.

Heeeere’s Annika
Annika Sorenstam may be off the competitive links but not out of golf by any stretch. She has launched shopAnnika.com on the Internet so you can “purchase all things Annika.” Some of the online items are ANNIKA Academy-branded Cutter & Buck clothing for women and men, academy headwear, Annika’s Fragrance, her game improvement instructional book Golf Annika’s Way, and other gifts plus some authentic, limited edition autographed Annika memorabilia.

Pro V1s for Everybody
Every golfer or anyone giving to a golfer can take advantage of the Titleist promotion for free personalization on any of their models including Pro V1. In a nut shell order a dozen balls with a week lead time and get 3 lines of copy – up to 17 characters – at no charge.

Eidolon
Eidolon wedges are unique, patented and they work. There’s a surprising amount of technology and design in the humble wedge and Terry Koehler at Eidolon knows how to do it very well. Though there a number of features in his wedges not necessarily found on bigger name clubs, what really separates his from their’s is the patented V-sole. The bounce of the first ¼ inch is very high and the rear of the sole’s bounce is less. The combination allows the user to “dial in” just the amount for bounce he wants for each different type of shot. Eidolon V-Sole wedges come in a variety of loft/bounce combinations such as 48° loft pitching wedge with 18° bounce on the front edge and 3° on the rear or the 60° lob wedge with bounces of 25°/6°. Available at EidolonGolf.com, V-Sole Wedge are $129 each for the 60° Lob (25°/6°), 56° Sand (30°/7°), 52° Gap (18°/3°) and 48° Pitching (15°/3°). Two, three and four wedge sets are offered at a discount.

Putting Around
Indoor putting …a poor substitute for the real thing whether seriously working on your stroke or simply a weather-induced housebound diversion. Chair legs, water glasses and Berber-woven flowers have been used as targets and there are those plastic devices that trap an on-line putt or even ball returning target cups. But let’s face it; indoors putting isn’t much fun, perhaps suitable as a few minutes entertainment for a five year-old but not much more. Enter The Putting Game a high tech device which doubles as a putting training aid and gaming station. Take a look on the web site puttinggame.com and see what I mean. $330 online