126 - It's Raining Again...

The Bay Hill logo is an umbrella which is very appropriate considering the weather they have been having in Florida over the last couple of days. The Arnold Palmer Invitational event should have come to a conclusion on Sunday afternoon but torrential downpours have put an end to that. Footage from the competition highlighted just how bad things were when it was difficult to differentiate the lakes from the waterlogged fairways.

The rain came at a good time for Ernie Els who looked to be cruising towards his second event win in as many outings but he hit a bogey and a double bogey on the last holes played before the heavens opened. The Big Easy looked decidedly uneasy as he limped around the back nine on his final round and was no doubt glad the weather turned to give him a chance to get his head together again.

It was satisfying to see that it isn’t just this country that has bad weather. Before the rain the players were wearing short sleeves but I never got the impression that the conditions were anything close to perfect. Then again, warm and overcast in Florida is infinitely preferable to freezing cold with horizontal rain getting drilled into your face in Merseyside.

I am supposed to be going to a local private course that my friend (and one of my golf mentors) has recently joined but the last three times I’ve arranged to go the weather has been spectacularly bad. We’ve endured heavy rain, gale force winds and the pièce de résistance, inches and inches of snow. I thought global warming was going to improve the weather not ruin it completely.

I think rain – more precisely heavy rain – is the worst type of weather to play golf in for me. The fairways become ball swallowing quagmires, the greens become mini lakes and you get soaked to the skin (unless you are rich and smug enough to buy some of that gorgeous Galvin Green clobber). It is a certainty that you are caught miles away from shelter with just a brolley for protection. Give me overcast Florida any day.

125 - Come Together...

As I’ve mentioned numerous times on this crappy little corner of the web, I like playing golf but don’t like looking like a golfer. I’m also a bit of a rebel and would rather kit myself out with clothing and equipment that isn’t necessarily the most popular on the course.

With this in mind I’ve been casting admiring glances over at the equipment coming out of the Cobra camp. They consistently produce interesting looking equipment that, to me anyway, seems to fit nicely into its own niche of being quite a premium product without being part of the Callaway set.

Cobra was founded in 1973 and is probably most famous for their drivers, fairway woods and hybrids. In 1996 the company was swallowed up by American Brands Inc. and has since been managed under the Acushnet Company umbrella, along with Titleist and FootJoy. 


After playing second fiddle to Titleist, Cobra will now get the chance to shine in it’s own right after it was announced that the brand was being bought by German sports equipment and clothing manufacturer Puma in what could be an intriguing partnership.

“Through the acquisition of Cobra Golf, we reinforce Puma’s commitment to our sports performance business by strengthening our growing and successful Golf category,” said Jochen Zeitz, chairman and chief executive of Puma.

“Cobra Golf has a history of innovative performance products fused with an edge and is therefore a perfect fit for us, reinforcing our overall mission of becoming the most desirable Sport life-style company.”


Puma produce some good-looking golf clothing that has more in common with the likes of Oscar Jacobson and J Lindeberg than Lyle & Scott and Pringle, which I totally approve of. This collaboration really excites me and I’m looking forward to the equipment and clothes that come out once the partnership blossoms.

124 - Do Not Adjust Your Set...

When I was a kid yellow golf balls were everywhere – by everywhere I mean in the woods and wild rough littering the local municipals I would visit when my golf ball collection would need restocking – but you don’t see them as much anymore. All that could change thanks to Srixon.

The Japanese ball manufacturer recently unveiled the new Srixon Z-Star Yellow ball (below) at the WGC Accenture Matchplay tournament when South African Tim Clark used it. Interestingly Clark claimed the colour had stress-reducing properties that helped him to victories over Vijay Singh and Martin Kaymer.

This stress relief has been confirmed in psychological studies where is was shown that the yellow/green colouring used in the new Z-Star had a calming effect at address compared to traditional balls as it is more comforting to the eye which helps the player focus on the next shot. Clever stuff.

According to the boffins at Srixon the ball is easier to see as it moves through the air too. In tests at distances of 275 yards, the Tour Yellow was spotted over 60% of the time, compared to 21% with the white ball.

What this means in the real world is that the colour should help reduce the number of balls that go missing in light rough due to being lost in flight.

The Srixon Z-Star is one of the best balls on the market at the moment and is used by the likes of Jim Furyk and Miguel Angel Jimenez. It is a real alternative to the all conquering Titleist Pro V1 and in it’s new ‘mellow yellow’ guise could shift a few units when it goes on sale in May priced at £44 per dozen. 



123 - Shots Of The Week: Waste Management Phoenix Open...

122 - Busy, Busy, Busy...

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m a sucker for technology and if that technology looks the part then I’m in. I was flicking through the latest issue of Golf Whine Monthly and stumbled across Nike’s new super game improver clubs and was left gawping like a fool. The new Nike Machspeed irons are either the best thing you have ever seen or an unholy disaster. Like I said, I’m a sucker...

Like previous game improver clubs from Nike, the Machspeed irons are designed to be easy to hit, forgiving and long. Having briefly used other Nike clubs from this end of the range I can confirm that they do exactly what they say on the tin. The clubs are designed to have a huge sweet spot and move the MOI lower to help fire the ball into the air with ease.

The lower end clubs are usually finished in Nike’s customary yellow and black and the new clubs continue the tradition, although you will need to have good eyesight to spot it as the back of the club is busier than Lime Street station at rush hour.

The boffins at Nike have welded what they call a ‘Powerbow system’ onto the back of the head, designed to move the MOI away from the face to help get your Srixon Z-Star air bound.

I can’t say whether it works or not, what I can say is that the Powerbow make the clubs look stunning.

The new fitting looks like the back of a Lamborghini Murcielago or something and ensures the clubs stand out a mile. Super game improver clubs are never the most subtle beasts (I’m looking at you Callaway Diablo Edge...) but the new Machspeed raises the overdesigned bar by some margin.

In a world where sleek blades are seen as the pinnacle of club aesthetics, where the ‘less is more’ philosophy is adhered to like some sort of bible the super game improver clubs are a breath of fresh air. Pure lines are replaced with bumps, lumps and bars in the pursuit of usability for the high handicappers and the Machspeed is the new King of design and performance.

121 - A Touch Of Menace...

The regular reader of this little blog will know that I’m a sucker for technology, if the technology looks good too then I’m in, hook, line and sinker. Needless to say I adore the Odyssey Sabertooth putter. Design and materials technology combined with extraordinary looks and real world performance means it is an absolute peach. But now Odyssey have added a touch of menace to the mix.

The original Sabertooth burst onto the golfing scene a couple of years ago and was an instant hit. The design was not to everyone’s taste with the ‘Pringle Jumper set’ having a good old moan because it wasn’t a traditional, ‘Anser’ putter (conveniently forgetting that the Anser putter was a radical design too when it first arrived) but new golfers loved it.

The press were keen to heap praise on the radical new putter too and it received a lot of plaudits for its ease of use, feel and ability to produce consistent results. Odyssey has a reputation for creating some of the very best putters and the stunning Sabertooth was another example of the company producing the goods again.

Not wanting to rest on its laurels, but not wanting to reinvent the wheel either, Odyssey has brought out a new Sabertooth this year. Although the distinctive shape has remained it is now menacing gunmetal grey with black and white accents.

The ‘fangs’ are still tungsten to help shift the weight wide to promote a straight putt but are black instead of maroon on the old model.

The face insert has also had a makeover and is now white instead of maroon but the change isn’t just cosmetic. The new Sabertooth has Odyssey’s White Ice insert which is apparently slightly firmer than the old model to produce a better feel on softer balls which are being used more and more. The distinctive inner fangs remain to help with alignment at address.

The new White Ice Sabertooth retails at £129 but I’ve already found it at nearer the £100 mark on some of the online retailers, for that price it is an absolute bargain. I’ve used the old Sabertooth and all that design really does work. The fangs do promote a straight swing, the mini fangs ensure the ball is correctly aligned and the insert makes the putt feel buttery.

Like I said at the beginning, I’m a sucker for technology and the Sabertooth is dripping with it. It is a bit of a Marmite putter though; you either love it or hate it which could put players off – not me, I think it is stunning, especially in this new stealth colour scheme. If I didn’t have a beautiful Mizuno Bettinardi putter already I’d be seriously tempted.