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.

120 - No Having Fun...

Don’t you just hate miserable, joyless, nitpicking sods that seem to have nothing better to do than ruin the fun for everyone? Now I know that it is necessary from time to time for the powers at be to step in to stop the great unwashed masses killing themselves with stupidity but when I read that a Canadian judge has banned the undeniably brilliant ‘Happy Gilmore swing’ my head nearly exploded.

Justice Arthur J. LeBlanc has ruled that swing made famous by Adam Sandler “breached the standard of care owed to other players on the course” after drunken Travis Hayter hit a playing partner during a pre-wedding round. “I’m convinced the Happy Gilmore shot would’ve been less controllable than a normal tee shot because it involved a run up continued Judge LeBlanc, “and because the defendant had been drinking through the day.”

In my opinion it is the ‘drinking through the day’ part that is the key. Of course the Happy Gilmore swing is more wild (for those who haven’t got a clue what I’m talking about it is a tee shot where the player takes a run up before smashing the ball down the fairway in one movement) but surely being rat arsed and messing about on the course with a gang of friends is going to cause more problems to more people.

How long is it before they ban players who have a horrendous slice or hook? If a new player (or completely awful one) cannot reasonably control where their Nike Juice ball is going to end up then surely they are ‘breaching the standard of care owed to other players on the course’? Going by the recent ruling, no new players will be able to play on a course before they have reined in their drives. Will there be golf driving tests in Canada now?

Thankfully this petty ruling doesn’t apply to the UK but it is only a matter of time before those joy-thieves at the Health and Safety Executive step in follow the lead set by Judge LeBlanc. Don’t be surprised if you see a Daily Mail campaign to stop the spread of this menace to the Royal and Ancient game of golf (they will probably blame the whole thing on immigrants too).

119 - Shake The Fake...

I was reading an article in Golf Whine Monthly recently about the biggest counterfeiting scam in eBay history which saw thousands of fake clubs sold for millions of pounds. Initially I had a picture of a Del Boy Trotter character, a lovable rogue selling hooky gear from a shed but then it dawned on me that I should be very angry at this modern day Fagin.

I, like a lot of you out there I suspect, buy a fair bit of my golfing paraphernalia via eBay as it often throws up the best price. I don’t mind that the gear doesn’t come with a full warranty, that there is virtually zero after sales and that there is a good chance the equipment isn’t brand new. What I do mind is being ripped off by being sent fake goods knocked up in an Asian factory for a few quid when I have paid for the genuine article.

A guy called Gary Bellchambers from Rainham in Essex set up a number of eBay accounts selling the likes of Odyssey Two-Ball putters, Cleveland irons and TaylorMade R7 drivers. He would buy the fake kit from China for as little as £3 before hawking it on eBay for up to £100 (which was still a bit cheaper than the shops but not too much). The pricing was very clever as it didn’t raise suspicion with the buyer for being too cheap yet still had that delicious smell of a genuine bargain.

Over five years his team was responsible for over 96,000 golf related transactions on eBay but it all come to a juddering halt in March 2008 after a little old lady complained to Trading Standards after she didn’t get a refund on a shoddy fake she had been sent.

Normally Bellchambers would refund customers instantly to stop them escalating the complaint but in this case he was out of the country and couldn’t respond.

Trading Standards launched ‘Operation Augusta’ and raided a number of homes seizing computers and 2,500 fake clubs. Computer forensics found emails between the team with detailed lists of which customer had bought what equipment, common complaints for returned goods and how flaws in the golf gear needed to be addressed to prevent the operation being caught out.

Bellchambers was charged with the rather catchy crime of ‘conspiracy to sell or distribute golf clubs and accessories bearing signs likely to be mistaken for registered trademarks contrary to Sec 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977’ and is due to be sentenced any day now. If convicted he and his co-conspirators could face up to 10 years in prison.

Golf by its very nature drives us to strive for constant improvement. The big manufacturers play on this and are relentlessly producing equipment that promises to give us tiny advantages over our fellow hackers but with money tight we are all on the lookout for a bargain. Bellchambers and his crew exploited this situation and merrily ripped off thousands. Loveable rogue? Don’t make me laugh.

118 - Shots of the Week: Northern Trust Open 2010...

117 - Five Star...

I admit it; I’m a sucker for gadgets, technology and new developments in golf. Although I do tend to whine about the manufacturers attempts to make the game of golf easier, I always skip to the new product section of Golf Whine Monthly for a quick drool at the stuff I will never buy. Flicking through the magazines recently I stumbled across something I badly want which infuriated me at the same time.

It is no secret that the golf equipment manufacturers churn out stuff each year with the sole purpose of making themselves a few quid, good luck to them I say. Occasionally the powers at be fiddle with the rules slightly giving the companies an excuse to produce a new driver with a 460cc head or a wedge with v grooves for example, but sometimes the big corporations make stuff for the sake of making stuff it seems.

Modern golf balls are broadly broken up into two categories; two piece balls that are aimed at higher handicap players who put a premium on low cost and high life span of a ball and three piece balls that are aimed at lower handicap players who demand playability and flexibility from their ball (there are also a few four piece balls that are basically the same as their three piece brethren but cost more and erm, well that is it really as far as I can tell).

But what if a two piece ball isn’t enough for you? What if a three piece ball leaves you cold? What if a four piece ball sends waves of apathy coursing through the very fibre of your being? I’ll tell you what you need in that case, a five piece ball!!!

But what kind of deranged company would come up with a ball that has almost as many layers as an onion? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you TaylorMade.

The ‘number one name in drivers’ is hoping to challenge Titleist to become the ‘number one name in golf balls’ with the release of its Penta TP five piece ball (above). Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, Y.E. Yang, Justin Rose and Jason Day are all set to use it on tour this season but TaylorMade are confident that the ball will be a big hit because the multi layer technology makes it the ideal choice for every level of golfer.

So how does it work? Well the new hazard finding missile from TaylorMade has a core designed to promote high launch speeds and low spin for distance off the tee, an inner mantle which does something similar for long irons, a middle mantel to help promote a mid launch trajectory for mid irons, a outer mantel designed to stop the ball spinning back too much when using scoring irons and a cover designed to give ultimate control. Phew.

So what does all that mean? In theory TaylorMade have produced a ball for golfers of all ability that is effective at all ranges with all clubs. If it works in practice then the Penta TP could be the most significant development in golf ball design since Titleist unleashed the all conquering Pro V1 on the golfing world. Or it could be just another golf ball at the end of the day...