Over the Green

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

A fall out of the Dubai government financial problems is the already troubled Tiger Wood Dubai project is in even more trouble. Opening of the first golf course designed by Woods was delayed last summer when Tatweer, the government-owened development company, first admitted there were problems. One hopes Woods got his supposed $25 million design fee up front ‘cause the likelihood of any more money coming to him or the course ever opening are growing dimmer.

Wedging It Around
Every club maker is in the throes of bringing updated wedges to market prior to Jan.1 to beat the groove regulations imposed by the USGA. Companies can continue to make box groove clubs until 2011 but then every wedge made must have the less efficient design grooves. Pros must start playing the new grooves on Jan. 1, 2010 but the rest of us have another 14 years. As I’ve said before this whole thing is inane and won’t solve the problem of pros hitting their drives too far but this is what the rulers of the game have given us and we have to live with it.

A number of the conforming groove wedges are also boasting of score marks or sand blasting to rough up the faces thereby trying to overcome the lower spin rates from V-grooves.

Kudos are due to a couple of the manufacturers. TaylorMade for the replaceable faces on the TP xFT wedge, definitely innovative thinking which allows you to put a new face with fresh grooves on the xFT for maybe $40 instead of buying a new wedge for $125. And Callaway for the best name for their wedges, “Jaws.”

Revenues, Rounds Down
From the PGA of America and the National Golf Course Owners Assoc. comes the report both golf course revenues for the first 10 months of the year and the number of rounds played were down. Revenues dropped 5.8% versus 2008 and rounds were down 1.5% so golfers are playing less and spending less when they do play.

Each year around this time I start looking at the news items that have crossed my desk since last Christmas for possible golfer gift ideas, think of this as sort of my ‘wish list.’ They range in price from the very expensive to a few dollars therefore potentially filling any gifter’s need. So, in no particular order:

No Golf but a Lot of Relaxation
Buccament Bay Beach Resort opens in July 2010 on the southwest coast of St. Vincent in the Windward Islands has a great year round vacation location, exclusivity, 12 restaurants, a tennis academy, the Liverpool Football Club’s soccer school, a cricket academy, activities for children, a 24-berth marina and NO GOLF. Since there’s no direct air service you have to fly into St. Lucia and take a launch to St. Vincent…sounds like fun.

Bushnell Promos
The Bushnell Tour V2 laser range finder has a permanent spot in my bag and until the end of 2009 they are offering a number of promotions for their various models. The one that caught my eye, since I like the V2, is called the ‘Tour V2 Limited Edition Holiday Pack.’ Included besides a Tour V2 laser rangefinder are a premium carrying case, two 3-volt batteries and two SKINZ™, silicone protective covers, at $100 off the usual retail price of $400.

House of Carrington
“Call me old fashioned but I think the clothes you wear are important, including on the golf course. They speak volumes about you and your attitude and many of the modern “youth-orientated” styles just don’t cut it. Cargo shorts, enormous basketball shorts, tank tops, etc. may look fine on a six-year old but on middle aged weekend warrior they look ridiculous.” That was the lead paragraph of my story about the House of Carrington clothing from two brothers named Bell, classic in design, quality construction using the best of fabrics at middle of the road prices. To locate a retail or green grass shop visit houseofcarrington.com.

Let’s Face It
The TaylorMade Golf TP wedge with xFT (Exchangeable Face Technology) gives players the option of changing out a worn wedge clubface; definitely a neat idea certainly worth consideration given the banning of box grooves by the USGA. Street price is $129 per and comes with a Z groove face (i.e., one conforming to the pre-2010 USGA rule). Other xFT wedge faces with either the Z groove or ZTP groove (conforming to the new 2010 USGA rule) are $39.

Sink More Putts
Dr. Craig Farnsworth’s book, The Putting Prescription, is a great reference on how to putt or at least how to understand what’s going on during the stroke. Farnsworth really does understand putting and has coached everyone from Azinger to Yang how to make more putts. John Wiley & Sons, $24.95

Another Golf Book, But Different
Frank Thomas is a very interesting guy, opinionated to be sure but as knowledgeable person as you can find regarding golf equipment and the game in general. Each week he answers questions sent in by readers of his web site and now has compiled the Q&A into a book, Dear Frank… which is available on his at franklygolf.com for $17.99

More suggestions in a couple of days.

LPGA Schedule Shrinks by One Third in Two Years
With an announced 23 event 2010 season, only one event on a major TV network and the balance on the Golf Channel the LPGA sked is a mess. One might say “paying for the Bivens era,” estrangement of tournament sponsors combined with a worldwide recession.

Two things are for sure whether the LPGA Tour dives, survives or thrives, until Wie won last week no American had been victorious for more than six months and half the tour’s events next year are out of the U.S.

Ouch.

The LPGA Tour has been truly international for several years but if they expect to draw U.S. audiences they will have to market Michelle, Paula, Christie, Natalie, etc. Tough to do when there’s only limited exposure.

Several news sources have reported the liquidation of Nickent Golf, once the darling of the hybrid club business. Employees have been terminated and other business has stopped. President and CEO John Hoeflich has been regarded as one of the most knowledgleable and able club designers.

Thank You Michelle
Incoming LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan had his prayers answered Sunday with Michelle Wie’s win at the penultimate event of 2009. Conceivably things will be different now for the ladies tour with the most marketable female player in the world now in the winner’s circle. One wonders if Carolyn Bivens would still have her job if Michelle’s win had come at the start of the season rather than the end.

Shop Rite Back
Another piece of good news for the distaff circuit is the return of the Shop Rite Classic in Atlantic City after an argument over scheduling with guess who…Carolyn Bivens. One more tournament and a million and a half dollar purse won’t solve LPGA’s problems but it reverses the trend of defecting sponsors, eight over the past two years.

USGA Allows TMaG Wedges
After some uncertainty and closed door conversations the USGA will “allow” TaylorMade to sell inter-changeable box groove faces for the TP xFT wedges in 2010. The crux of the matter was the USGA ruling that the innovative “screw in – screw out” faces were OK if they meet the conditions set by the groove rule made public this fall.

TMaG said the initial disposition by the USGA was unfair which in effect dissallowed sales of inter-changeable face box groove wedges in 2010 when noninter-changeable wedges with the old style box grooves were OK.

I had heard about Limestone Springs in northern Alabama so was eagerly looking forward to a visit and found once off the interstate the drive gave a prelude to the Appalachian Mountains foothill terrain cradling the course.

Located outside of the town of Oneonta, north of Birmingham, Limestone Springs opened in 1999. General Manager Buster Inman is in charge and oversees each aspect of the customer-centered operation. The Limestone Springs experience runs right from a staff member’s welcoming smile to the wait staffs quick attention when stopping in the grille for an after round drink. And the grille by the way, offers a knockout view of the closing hole.

Former U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate designed Limestone Springs and like most of his designs it has a natural look, not contrived, following the contours of the hill sides and valleys. Keeping with this natural theme and since this is an inland, hilly course sand is not a major feature – there are only 36 bunkers – rock outcroppings, trees, and various water hazards are much more prominent. More…

Rife Putters has had a lot of success on the Champions Tour and to capitalize they have introduced two new putters both using the company’s patented RollGroove Technology.

The 460 Mid Blade and the 400 Mid Mallet have an additional benefit, at a MSRP of $99.80 they sell for about $100 less than other popular Rife models such as the Two Bar Hybrid. Matt Molloy, Rife president of Rife Putters said in a press release, “We priced the 460 Mid Blade and the 400 Mid Mallet at a very reasonable $99.80 to introduce RIFE’s technology to as broad an audience as possible.”

Sure would be nice if more club manufacturers took that approach.

Doug Barron
I had refrained from opinionating about Doug Barron and his being the first to be nabbed by the PGA Tour’s drug policy, which if you will remember was inspired by the burning desire to get in line so golf could become part of the Olympics. The reason for my reticence was the view that golf (the last gentleperson’s sport) being associated with the Olympics (a den of bribery, dope and kick backs) looked like a very bad idea. That in spite of the big names of the game falling over themselves to help the Olympic Committee make the positive decision they did.

So who did the reported $2 million Tour program nab? A guy who could at best could be described as a journeyman and who will not be missed during his year’s suspension. Barron is suing the Tour since he says he told them he was taking the drugs, appealed and they rejected his appeal telling him there would be no exceptions.

That of course raises the question would the same rejection have been done if it were Woods or Mickelson, etc.?

Monty to the Hall?
All the recent speculation Colin Montgomerie should be in the World Golf Hall of Fame is just so much hot air. It’s obvious he certainly can play the game well as proven by his seven Order of Merit titles, i.e. leading the European Tour money list seven times.

But there are two insurmountable reasons why the HOF is out of Monty’s reach. He hasn’t won on the PGA Tour and he hasn’t won a single major championship. Those who are proposing his career is Hall material are either of the “Well, he really tried hard” school or don’t understand the magnitude of achievement by the enshrined 129 or both.

Monty’s not in that league much less in the ball park.