Golf, Black Friday, Christmas what to get
Nov24

Golf, Black Friday, Christmas what to get

What do you get for the golfer when you don’t know what they have or what they want? Here are some great ideas: Golf Book: Why you suck at golf   Trunk Organizer for golf shoes, balls, tees, and other valuables.                       Golf equipment organizer For home storage of golf bags, clubs, and accessories Stores two golf bags Adjustable feet for leveling Sturdy metal construction, 32 by 16 by 37 inches  ...

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Will Tiger Woods Select Ping as His New Clubs?
Oct08

Will Tiger Woods Select Ping as His New Clubs?

Let’s look at the facts: Tiger woods has used a Ping putter grip in the past. “Ping Putter” and “Tiger Woods” have the same number of characters. Subliminal marketing message, I like it. Tiger and Phil played Ping pong at the 2004 Ryder Cup. Coincidence? I think not. I really want to see Tiger and Bubba on the same brand. That’s enough for...

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Discontinued golf ball model? What do I play next?
Jul19

Discontinued golf ball model? What do I play next?

I have a basic question for golf ball manufacturers. When you discontinue a golf ball, how do I know which model replaces it?   I have found a ball that I like,  the maker has discontinued it, none of the current models use the same words to describe it. They use words like ultra, mega, long, distance, feel, control, hex, but no specifications.  I can understand if the don’t want to reveal competitive information,  but at least publish a roadmap.   I think without knowing the next evolution,  many golfers will stray to other golf equipment manufacturers that are using the current buzzwords.  Hydro-über-super-hot may catch the eye of the occasional golfer, but serious golfers want what they are used to, consistency, repeatability are words I like to think of when it comes to my golf ball. Titleist continues with the ProV1, and other models that are obvious to follow year after year.  Why can’t the...

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Golf Equipment Made in the USA (Part 2)
Jun21

Golf Equipment Made in the USA (Part 2)

As I mentioned in a previous post I am going to continue to research and find golf equipment that is made in USA. Club Glove: According to the companies web site, ClubGlove.com, their products are “Proudly made-in-the-USA.” While not golf related, I found a great alternative use for the Stiff Arm club protector. Normally used in a soft side club travel bag. I use it to hold up my boat cover. I tried numerous alternatives, but the Stiff Arm stays in place and the durable plastic head spreads the contact to the cover and prevents the pole from poking through the cover. CaddyIt: I have never used it, but it looks like a great idea. It allows easy placement in your normal putter spot in your bag. When needed, remove it from your bag and stick it in the ground (next to, but not in the green), then you can lean your wedges, hold your towel, and keep your putter off of the wet grass. Prevent bending over stresses and strains. According to their site, http://www.caddyit.com/ you can then lean up to four additional clubs with the grips facing up. Cool idea. Pure Grips: Listed on their FAQ page on their web site, http://www.puregrips.com/help All PURE Grips are made in our manufacturing plant in Tempe, AZ. They have a unique, tapeless installation. Even better, they can be easily removed and adjusted. I think these might be my next grips. Bettinardi Golf: Just South of Chicago Bettinardi golf is CNC milling their putter heads in the USS. According to their website, http://www.bettinardi.com, Matt Kuchar, J.B. Holmes and Brian Gay have used the Bettinardi putters. They have some neat videos on their site showing the actual CNC process to mill the putters. http://www.bettinardi.com/videos/ I hope you are enjoying this “Golf equipment made in the USA” series. Let me know if you know of more equipment manufactured in America or if these posts influenced your decision to buy...

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Golf Equipment Challenge
Mar22

Golf Equipment Challenge

I have a challenge for the golf equipment manufacturers or golf magazines. Take 3 golfers or 3 groups of golfers from high, mid range and low handicaps. Have them play a round with their own clubs then give them the top ranked equipment (including golf balls and putters) or better yet, fit them with equipment that best fits the individual. Then, send them back to the course and publish how much they improved. As an added bonus, then have them go through some individualized instruction, then see how they do. What has more of an impact equipment or technique? I know when I got fit for clubs my game improved, but then I also had more of an interest and practiced more and played better. How about it Ping, Titleist, Golf Magazine, Taylormade, Callaway, Adams, GolfTips...

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What do I want Google Glass to do for my golf game?
Mar01

What do I want Google Glass to do for my golf game?

I was recently invited to participate in the Google Glass Explorer program. Not sure if I will spend the $1500 to participate or not, but it got me thinking about how it might be used on the golf course. It seems like not too long ago we were wishing there would be some way to accurately read the distance to the hole and along came the laser range finder. Then the dedicated hand-held golf GPS. Soon after followed the GPS app for smartphones. Now I have a Garmin GPS golf watch (Garmin Approach S1 GPS Golf Watch). My golfing buddies often ask, “What does your wrist say”? Brainstorming about what I would like to see for the ultimate Google Glass Ultimate Golf App, here is what I came up with: Wind If the wind speed and direction are not available from the local weather source, maybe golf courses could be “Glass Enabled” offering hole-by-hole wind speed and direction. A 3D wind model with local Doppler radar would be a very nice to have. Distance to hole This is a no brainer, using standard GPS, you should be able to get distance to the front, middle, and back of the green. The green doesn’t change size very often, but the hole does. If the golf course was “Glass Enabled” they could provide a more accurate pin placement for the day. Pre-shot routine One of the best things I ever did for my golf game is to develop a pre-shot routine or for me a thought process. I mentally go through not only the motions of a routine, but also the one or two things I need to think about during my swing. I learned long ago, too many swing thoughts is a bad idea. I use the pre-shot routine to clear my head. If Glass would provide me with a short bullet-ed list of what I should remember it would be most helpful Show me the putting line This might be my favorite. A lot of technology would be needed for this to work correctly. I want to “see the line” when I look down at my ball. I want an augmented reality and see the actual line including distance to putt to overlaid on my vision. Log my score to the cloud I learned so much about my game when I started writing down what happened on each shot. I learned I need to practice more with my wedges inside of 75 yards. I learned my fairway 3 wood was an issue. I also learned that waiting for players in front of me destroyed my game. If Glass could...

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