Water Hazards Aren't All Bad!

California is ground zero for the great housing bust of our generation. Having worked in distressed real estate for over 4 years in the early nineties, I saw the early warning signs of the current housing bubble back in 2001. I felt like Chicken Little warning people that the real estate sky was falling over the last half decade. Alas, only a few people listened. One was a friend who was so spooked, he sold his overinflated Pasadena, CA house in 2005 in favor of renting a place in Indianapolis.

It took a while, but my doom and gloom prediction came true. After peaking a couple years ago, home prices here have fallen faster than John Daly's bank account after a Vegas weekend. And don't expect home prices to stop falling until they reach levels last seen in 2002, in real terms. Adding insult to injury, wildfires last week have destroyed around 1,000 homes in southern California. It probably would have been worse if it weren't for those things that haunt all golfers: water hazards.

As long as they contain more water than golf balls, golf course water hazards are perfect refilling stations for firefighting helicopters! Check out these photos from grouchy reader David:




David has more photos here.

Bandon Dunes Vacation Trip Tips: Part III, On the Course

Earlier this year, I took a once-in-a-lifetime golf vacation to Bandon Dunes. I have already written about my off-the-course experiences and how to prepare for it. Here are my on-the-course experiences:

Consider a Caddie

Playing on local munis for most of my golf life, I'm not used to nor am I a big fan of caddies. I prefer to rely on myself for many of the things that caddies provide such as club carrying, club selection and green reading. But since Bandon is walking only and we were playing 36 holes per day on links courses, a caddie is almost a necessity to prevent death by exhaustion! But it's not cheap. Caddie fees at Bandon are $55 per round per person. Double bagging provides no discount! Oh, and don't forget the suggested $25 tip per round!

Unfortunately, the quality of caddies at Bandon is not consistent. At Bandon, you are paired with a caddie and they remain your caddie for all of your future rounds no matter what courses you play. This is fine if you have a good caddie, but it can be uncomfortable at best if you don't. My 8-person golf party each hired a different caddie. Unfortunately, 2 caddies didn't make it past the halfway mark of our trip for various reasons. They would have been dismissed a lot earlier if it wasn't so awkward!

The Courses

All three courses are spectacular! They'd better be with $210 green fees during the high season (but the same-day replay fees are only 50% of the full green fee!). Both Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes saddle up alongside the Oregon coastline and present some great ocean views. While Bandon is slightly longer than Pacific in total length, Pacific feels so much longer! I found Bandon to offer a slightly more interesting layout while Pacific is a tad more scenic with more breathtaking ocean views. Pacific also seems to play much more difficult than Bandon. I didn’t think that I would ever fail to break 100 again, but it happened at Pacific!

Bandon Trails is located away from the ocean right where the dunes meet the coastal forest. It starts and ends with true links holes, but in-between the course winds through a hilly and densely wooded forest. With its wider fairways and wind-breaking trees, Trails is a much more forgiving course than its oceanfront siblings. There are some dramatic elevation changes that add character but can make club selection difficult.

So which course is the best? Picking your favorite course at Bandon is a lot like Hef picking his favorite girlfriend from The Girls Next Door. You want to play a round with all of them, but you definitely want to play some more often than others! If the Bandon courses were Hef's girls, Pacific Dunes would be Holly, Bandon Trails would be Kendra and Bandon Dunes would be Bridget.

However, if Pacific didn’t exist, I’d rank Bandon ahead of Trails (but I'd still take Kendra over Bridget). That’s because while I prefer both links courses to Trails, it offers such a nice change of pace from a traditional links style course that it pairs perfectly with Bandon and Trails. My ideal day at Bandon would be a morning round at Trails, followed by a nice lunch in the clubhouse and ending with an afternoon round at Pacific. Just don’t remind me how much that costs!

My Favorite Memories

My favorite off-the-course memories from my Bandon Dunes golf trip are easily the dinners with my friends in the Lodge. These are some special people and I really appreciate the few times that we get to spend together.

But my favorite Bandon golf memory has to be my amazing driving round at Pacific Dunes. I hit driver on every non par-3 hole and hit the fairway each time! And these weren’t just dinky Funk-like pokes down the fairway, they were full-bore 250+ yd. drives! Of course the golf gods wouldn’t let the rest of my game reflect this excellence. They made sure that I didn’t break 90 by delivering an exact score of 90! My friend thought it was impossible not to break 90 if you hit every fairway. I sure proved him wrong!

Golf Tips - "Hit Up on the Ball" With the Driver!

In the January 2008 issue of Golf Magazine, Charlie King wrote an instructional article titled, "The Easy Way to Add 20 Yards." What caught my eye was a table of data that showed driving distances of varying clubhead speeds and angles of attack with the driver:


At all clubhead speeds, the maximum driving distance was achieved with a positive angle of attack. In other words, hitting up with the driver produced the longest drives! This is contrary to the proper technique to hit irons and fairway woods where the clubhead should impact the ball with a descending blow or "Hit Down on the Ball".

According to Fredrik Tuxen, the inventor of the TrackMan launch monitor system:

Optimizing driving distance is a question of high ball speed, high launch angle and low spin rate. But you can, in general, not increase your launch angle without also increasing the spin rate. So the fundamental question was: What determines what spin rate/launch angle combination can be obtained? It turns out that for a well hit shot, attack angle is the primary parameter dictating what combinations of launch angle /spin rate are obtainable for a given player.

Attack angle is the primary parameter telling you why you obtain certain combinations of launch angle and spin rate – it is even more important than the club head speed! Also, the attack angle is related almost solely to your golf swing and not equipment related, which means it is something you, as a golfer, can change – it is pure technique!

Players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Charles Howell III are all players who often swing with significant, negative attack angles. However, common for this group of players is their very high club and ball speeds, so they fly the ball pretty far despite their negative attack angle – they do not really have a distance problem! However, if they increased their attack angle they could hit the ball 30-40 yards further. But apparently they have deliberately chosen not to do this.

SwingVision - Where Are the Close-ups?

The always witty David Feherty recently proclaimed CBS' SwingVision a "weapon of mass instruction." A brilliant pun, it is a great summary of the slow motion technology. It has been an invaluable tool in my never-ending quest to understand this perpetually perplexing game!

Over the years, SwingVision has evolved with advances in technology. It added color to the close-up camera, upgraded the resolution to high definition (HD) and added a mobile camera to evaluate live swings. However, I think that SwingVision has taken two steps forward and one step back. For some reason they have abandoned the close-up camera from their arsenal. Once featured every time, it is now only utilized once in a blue moon. This is highly unfortunate because it was my favorite feature. There's so much that you can learn by seeing a close-up of club-to-ball impact at 12,500 frames per second!

Here's an old SwingVision of Tiger hitting iron off the tee that shows you what I mean:



C'mon CBS, please bring back the SwingVision close-up cam!

Bandon Dunes Vacation Trip Tips: Part II, Be Prepared!

Bandon Dunes is fast becoming the North American golf mecca. Recently, I had an opportunity to take a Bandon Dunes golf vacation with some good golf buddies. I have already written about my off-the-course experiences. Here are my thoughts and tips on how to prepare for the golf at Bandon Dunes:

True British Open-style links courses in the U.S.!

Bandon Dunes is three-course golf resort situated on an isolated part of the rugged southern Oregon coastline. Re-creation of the traditional links courses of Scotland and Ireland is the name of the game here. In my 10+ years of playing golf, I have never played a true links course. So what I found at Bandon was golf unlike anything that I've ever played in my life. Natural contours from seaside dunes meant that there was rarely a flat lie. Fairways were very firm with tightly mown grass. Carts and cart paths were non-existent. On the course, about the only man-made structures that will come into view is the Lodge/clubhouse. The courses are isolated from civilization and you definitely feel it!

Rain and Wind are Par for the Course

One of the things that I hate is playing golf in the rain and/or cold. As a spoiled southern California golfer, I've become accustomed to dry and warm weather. Usually, if there's any chance of rain or the mercury dropping below 60, I don't even bother driving to the golf course. There are just too many sunny days here to have to play in those conditions! But I knew that rain, wind and cold are all considered the norm at Bandon Dunes. In fact, such playing conditions were the only apprehension that I felt when I booked my trip. Eventually I figured what the hell, this is a once-in-a-lifetime golf trip! I just have to man up and be strong mentally. But the biggest dilemma was how to prepare for the rain...

Get Wind and Waterproof!

Before my Bandon trip, I owned no rain equipment. Unfortunately, high quality golf rain gear is expensive. A good rain suit is well over $300! Would it be worth spending so much money on equipment that I may just use on one trip? I concluded it wasn't. Instead of a heavy-duty rain suit, I opted for a light-packable rain suit for around $50. Sure enough, during our first round it rained and it rained hard. While my rain suit kept me dry, it didn't fit well at all. It was bulky and adversely affected my swing. I was definitely second-guessing my penny-pinching decision. It rained again during our next round, but luckily not again for the rest of the trip! It turned out that being a cheap-skate didn't bite me back too badly. But if it rained any more than it did, I would think that a high-quality rain suit would have been worth it. Not only is it important that a rain suit keep you dry, but it should allow you to swing as freely as possible. Other essential golf rain gear that you must pack:

• Shoes: Nothing is worse than water getting into your shoes. I really never quite understood that concept until it happened to me on my Bandon trip! My socks got wet and my feet started to swim in my shoes. That caused blisters to form!
  
  I just assumed that my shoes were waterproof because it came with a 2-year waterproof warranty. Unfortunately, I have been using them well past the warranty period and they must have lost their waterproofing ability. Don't make my mistake! Be sure to use waterproof golf shoes and make sure that they are still within the warranty period. It's also a good idea to bring another pair of shoes to rotate amongst and allow proper drying between rounds. Remember to stuff 'em with newspaper after the round to dry them properly!
  
  
• Headwear: The wind chill at Bandon can be brutal. In such conditions, you lose much of your heat (30% or more) through your head and neck! That's why it is so important to preserve warmth by donning a winter hat. Choose hats made of wool, polyester or acrylic knits that stay warm when wet. Also, look for non-itch materials or linings for comfort. I choose a high-quality beanie hat made for mountain climbing. It was made of Polartec for warmth and had a Windstopper lining to prevent wind and water penetration. It was a little more expensive, but well worth it!
  
  
• Gloves: Golf rain gloves allow you to grip wet grips. Unfortunately, they don't keep your hands warm in the cold!

Adjust Your Game

Links courses and their associated weather conditions require certain adjustments to play them well. The biggest adjustment for me was hitting off of the firm and unyielding sand-based fairways. I'm used to fairways with supportive turf that sits the ball up off of the ground beneath. However, the grass and ground seem to be one and the same on a links fairway. As a result, it is unforgiving to less than perfect ball-striking. Even simple chipping and pitching is maddeningly more difficult on a links fairway. Hit the ball just a fraction fat and you'll flub it. I must have averaged 4 chunky chili dips per round with my wedges until I just gave up and putted them instead! There's a good chance that putting is your best option for anything on the fairway within 30 yards of the green. Watch this week's British Open to see how it's done. If you are lucky enough to play Bandon, be sure to check out their practice facility to get used to that pesky turf.

Stay tuned for Bandon Dunes Vacation Trip Tips: Part III, On the Course!

Tigers are Tough, Especially the Human Kind

A couple of years ago, ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski wrote an article that included a seemingly absurd proclamation that "Tiger Woods is the greatest individual athlete of our time. OK, of all time." After Tiger's unhuman-like performance at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, Wojciechowski's statement might be right on the money. Winning the most difficult tournament against the world's best with a torn ACL and a double stress fracture is nothing short of miraculous. Unfortunately, recovering from that injury will cost Woods the rest of the season. It seems that Wojciechowski might be the Carnac the Magnificent of golf with his prescient statement: "Only injury stands between Woods and any record worth owning."

But there are always haters out there who will try to bring you down. Surprisingly, the sharpest barb came from the usually docile Retief Goosen, himself a two-time US Open champion. When asked whether he believed that Woods was faking the extent of his pain, he said: “I think so. It just seemed that when he hit a bad shot his knee was in pain and on his good shots he wasn’t in pain. You see when he made the putts and he went down on his knees and was shouting, ‘Yeah’, his knee wasn’t sore. Nobody really knows if he was just showing off or if he was really injured. I believe if he was really injured, he would not have played.” Retief later tried to downplay his jealous-tinged remarks saying, “I was being light-hearted. No one but Tiger himself knows how badly hurt he was. But if he was really badly hurt, he would have withdrawn, wouldn’t he?”

Well Retief, maybe your wuss ass would have withdrawn, but Tiger is tough as nails. In addition, you just gave Tiger the extra motivation to crush you every time you set foot on the same course that he does. Get better soon Tiger, and when you get back it will be open season for Goose hunting. He may or may not be the greatest athlete, but Tiger Woods is the greatest competitor!

Amy Winehouse Ugly? That Must Be Really Bad!

I watched the CBS broadcast of the Colonial last weekend. There was plenty of poor play, but one player hit such an awful shot that it would've embarrassed a hack like myself. The quick-witted Gary McCord deadpanned, “That shot was ugly, very ugly. That was Amy Winehouse ugly.” I hit the floor laughing.

If you think about it, that must have been one helluva ugly shot. Because not only is Amy Winehouse fugly appearance-wise, she has an ugly drug addiction problem, an ugly attitude, and a downright ugly voice, IMHO. When I first heard her music, it sounded to me like a woman high off her rocker on crack. And that was before she was caught smoking the rock on video! I've heard her albums multiple times out of sheer peer pressure to be cool, but I just don't get it. I find her music old-fashioned and nothing special. It is perplexing to me why she is so popular and receives so much universal praise for her music. I'm tempted to hold American Idol-like auditions at drug rehab centers around the country to find the next "musical genius" and really milk this craze!

I applaud Gary McCord for continuing to interject his hilarious but dead-on accurate comments during golf broadcasts. While uptight old farts like the Men of the Masters might find his comments offensive, I find them entertaining, especially during boring golf tournaments. Gary McCord is good, very good. He is Tiger Woods good. Well maybe not that good!

Bandon Dunes Vacation Trip Tips: Part I, Off the Course

Two weeks ago, I took my dream golf trip to Bandon Dunes with 7 of my golf buddies. Here are my quick thoughts on my off-the-course experience and hopefully they will help you plan a Bandon Dunes golf trip:

Air Travel

The fastest way to get to Bandon is to fly into North Bend airport (OTH). Unfortunately, there's not a lot of flights into it. Your best bet is to fly to Portland and then take a puddle-jumper to North Bend. If you're nervous about flying like I am, be warned that the plane from Portland to North Bend is small. There are only 9 rows of seats with 4 seats per row! Thankfully, the airline (Horizon Air) offered complimentary wine and beer to take the edge off.

Ground Transportation

The resort is about a 20 min. drive from the airport. I called about 5 local ground transportation services for quotes. I decided to go with Aviation Transportation (877-315-7963). Not only were they the best deal at $50 round trip per person, but they offer complimentary beer. Service was top-notch and reliable. Just tell them your flight information and the driver will meet you at the gate and load your luggage into a luxurious van. For your return flight, they will pick you up from your hotel about 2 hours before your flight. I will definitely use them again.

Lodging

I stayed at the The Lodge at Bandon Dunes in the Lodge Suite which is basically a 2-story, 4-bedroom, 4-bath, condo sans kitchen. It sits right next to the 18th green of the Bandon Dunes golf course and offers distant ocean views. Every room was spacious and features a flat-panel HDTV. I would characterize the architecture as modern rustic. The accommodations were excellent, but you'd expect that for a $1,7000/night suite ($425 per person)! My only complaint was that there was no HD signal going into the HDTVs. That's like driving a Ferrari with a Kia engine!

Dining

The Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is a little isolated from the main town so the dining options are limited. However, the food at the resort is so good that there's really no reason to dine anywhere else. Here's my thoughts on some of the food that I consumed:

Oregon Blueberry Pancakes and Pure Maple Syrup ($6.50): Two fluffy plate-sized flapjacks stuffed with plump blueberries. They're so big that it's plenty for two healthy appetites but so tasty that one will want to finish it by himself!

Flash Fried Calamari Appetizer ($8.00): Very good of the light-batter variety.

Duck and Ginger Potstickers Appetizer ($9.00): Very tasty with a pleasant sweet-soy dipping sauce.

Pan Seared Elk Striploin ($36.00): When it comes to food, I just have to try everything at least once. Since I've never eaten elk, I figured that this was a must order. I found the meat to be very similar to beef in both taste and texture. It was good, but not quite as exotic as I expected. While I'm glad I tried it, it's probably not something I'd order again.

Grilled Ribeye Steak ($38.00): I ordered it rare just like all steaks should be ordered. While it was a mammoth-sized steak, it was a bit tough in spots. However, the flavor was excellent.

Grilled New York Strip ($39.00): Again, rare! This steak was much better than the ribeye I had a few nights earlier. Much more tender with a slightly better flavor. If you have only one steak on your visit, this is the one to order.

Pan Seared Sea Scallops ($32.00): Nice big scallops each resting on its own mound of shrimp risotto. Easily one of the best scallop dishes I've ever eaten.

Grandma’s Meat Loaf ($17.00): Probably as good as meatloaf can get but that's not saying much. However, I love meatloaf so I really enjoyed it. I would recommend having it for lunch as opposed to dinner because there's just so many better options for dinner.

Beer: The resort features Deschutes Brewery's Mirror Pond on tap at every dining facility. Is there really any other choice? It's probably the best American style pale ale ever brewed. For the lighter beer palates, there's also Widmer Hefeweizen on tap. I admit I downed a couple of those too!

Wine: I love wine, but I know very little about them. Luckily several members of my crew were well-versed in fine wines. According to them, the wine list at the resort is excellent. My favorites were the Opus One "Proprietary Red Wine" (Thanks John!), Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Evenstad and the Trefethen Cabernet Sauvignon. As you can tell, I'm well on my way toward wine snobbery!

Overall Dining: I was pleasantly surprised by the gourmet quality, generous portions and reasonable prices of the food at the resort. Usually isolated resorts operate like ruthless monopolists and really stick it to you for food. Not so in this case.

Stay tuned for Bandon Dunes Vacation Trip Tips: Part II, Be Prepared!

Titleist Pro V1 and V1x Differences?

Introduced in the Fall of 2000, the Titleist Pro V1/V1x was one of the most revolutionary golf balls of all time by incorporating a multi-layer construction with a soft urethane-covering to virtually eliminate the traditional trade-offs between distance, spin, feel, and durability. Since then the Pro V1/V1x has been the dominant ball in golf. Dominant among pros and amateurs alike.

Not wanting to be left behind, I adopted the Pro V1 as my primary ball from the get-go. I'm always open to trying the competitor's new offerings, but I just haven't found anything that's materially better yet. Part of the reason is that Titleist isn't content to rest on its laurels. There has been at least 2 major revisions to the original Pro V1/V1x. The newest adds the A.I.M. (Alignment Integrated Marking) sidestamp so that you don't even have to manually line up your golf ball anymore!

I've always used the Pro V1 rather than its X-rated sibling because I've always thought that the former was softer, spun more and produced a higher ball flight; all qualities that I prefer. According to the Titleist website, here are the differences between the Pro V1 and the Pro V1x:

• Distance: For most players, Pro V1x will be longer off the tee.
• Feel: Pro V1 is softer than the Pro V1x.
• Durability: Pro V1 is the most durable Titleist tour played golf ball.

However, results from the cover story, "The Best Ball For You" of the February 2008 issue of Golf Magazine seem to contradict some of these claims. According to this exhaustive robot golf ball test, the Pro V1x is indeed slightly longer than the Pro V1 by about 1.4 yds in total distance (carry plus roll) off a driver (90 mph swing speed, 137 mph ball speed, 13.75-degree launch angle, 2,900 rpm). However, additional tests indicate that the Pro V1x also spins more (the printed article lists the spin rate of the Pro V1x at 12,299 rpm vs. the Pro V1 at 11,914 rpm with a sand wedge) and is softer! Based on these new test results, here's a revised summary of the differences between the Pro V1 and the Pro V1x:

• Distance: For most players, Pro V1x will be longer off the tee. (According to Titleist and Golf Magazine)
• Feel: Pro V1x is softer than the Pro V1. (According to Golf Magazine)
• Spin: Pro V1x spins more than the Pro V1. (According to Golf Magazine)
• Durability: Pro V1 is the most durable Titleist tour played golf ball. (According to Titleist)
• Ball Flight: Pro V1 has a slightly higher flight. (According to Titleist)

As a longtime Pro V1 user, I found the new evidence that the Pro V1x is actually softer and spinier than the Pro V1 to be downright shocking. Maybe even more shocking is that it took almost 8 years to come to light. Durability and ball flight be damned, any ball that flies farther and spins more is a better ball in my book. I'll be switching to the Pro V1x right after I go through my current stash of 3 dozen Pro V1s! How about you?

Golf Tips - "Hit Down on the Ball" with Irons and Fairway Woods

My favorite part of golf is hitting irons. There's no better feeling than hitting that pured iron shot. I can spend all day at the range without hitting a wood and be perfectly content. Irons are the surgical instruments of golf. In the right hands, they can place a ball within 10 feet of a hole from 2 football fields away. If you think about it, that's pretty amazing. The U.S. military would love to have a weapon that accurate!

But mastering the irons is much easier said than done. To understand the concept of hitting irons properly, you must throw logic out of the window. Like most things in golf, your common sense will lead you down the wrong path. Most people look at a pitching wedge and assume that to get the ball in the air one must somehow get the club under the ball and hit it with an upward blow. In other words, people see the clubface and assume that the club must impact the ball perpendicular to its the loft. This is incorrect and the reason that most people have difficulty with irons.

In reality, an iron launches the ball into the air because it imparts massive amounts of backspin. This backspin combined with the dimples on the golf ball creates lift, known as the Magnus force. As a result, the spin rate directly influences how high the ball flies.

To impart this necessary backspin, the clubhead must impact the ball with a descending blow. The swing advice, "hit down on the ball" is meant to convey this concept concisely. However, I find that this term can be somewhat misleading because it implies that the clubhead should impact the ball on a very steep angle. Better ball-striking will result from a shallow or slightly downward approach into the ball. Once I understood this concept, it truly was a golf epiphany. The key is to re-wire your brain.

It helps to see the physics in slow motion. Below is an impact sequence from the SwingVision of Tiger Woods hitting an iron off a tee. A red dot marks the same point on the ferrule. Some important things to notice:

• The club strikes the ball on a slightly descending angle of attack
• At impact the ball compresses and then leaves the clubface with backspin
• The club strikes the ball first and then takes a divot out of the turf

But remember, "hitting down on the ball" only applies to irons, hybrids and fairway woods. For a teed driver, you should "hit up on the ball" to maximize your distance. Are you confused yet?

Matt Jones: Johnny Miller's Man Crush?

Johnny Miller sounded like a man in love last week at the Honda Classic. However, the object of his affection wasn't some hot young Betty, but a 27 year-old Aussie golfer named Matt Jones. Johnny's frequent gushing over this PGA Tour rookie during the 3rd round reminded me of some pre-teen girls talking about heartthrob Corey Haim back in middle-school.

Just read a giddy Miller commenting on a slo-mo replay of Matt's swing on Saturday: "He has a perfect setup...Just a "10" on a scale of 1 to 10...He has a real good "chase"...I really believe that he has a good chance to be a star in the next couple of years."

Ironically, these comments came shortly after Johnny criticized Ernie Els' swing, arguably the best swing of all-time! I guess Johnny reserves the über praise for golfers that have incorporated his patented "chase" move. It's been a recurring theme with Johnny Miller for quite some time now. I just wish that I knew what the heck he's talkin' about.

And Johnny, don't you think that you're a little premature anointing this guy as the next young golf star? In four years on the Nationwide Tour, he failed to win any of the 94 events that he played. Have the Wies finally convinced you that winning doesn't matter? Remember, people once thought that Corey Haim had star potential. Those people were morons.

Tilghman and Faldo: Corporate Shills?

During the television coverage of last week's Accenture Match Play Championship, there seemed to be enough promotion to rival a Ron Popeil infomercial. Only it wasn't Ron plugging stuff but the Golf Channel's on-air personalities, Kelly Tilghman and Nick "Han" Faldo. Every time a player hit the new Nike SQ Sumo square driver, Kelly was sure to identify the driver and comment about how much that player loves its performance. During the final match between Tiger and Stewart Cink, Kelly made sure to point out that the "Swoosh" was well represented in the tournament with Nike staffers Woods, Cink and Leonard making it to the semis. Is Kelly trying to make amends with Tiger over the "Lynch him in a back alley" incident or is there some kind of undisclosed relationship between her and Nike? Whatever the reason, it is suspicious at best that she made no similar comments about other golf manufacturers or equipment.

Tilghman's booth-mate was even guiltier of thinly-veiled promotion. Faldo did his best to sneak in plugs for his current endorser, TaylorMade Adidas Golf. Faldo made it a point to talk about players using the new TaylorMade Monza Spider putter with success. But even worse, he took an opportunity to bash his former endorser, Nike, while extolling the performance of TaylorMade's new golf ball. Nick went out of his way to highlight Golf Magazine's recent golf ball test results that showed the new TaylorMade TP ball bested the Nike One Platinum by 20 yards with a driver (90 mph swingspeed). C'mon Nick, was it just a mere coincidence that you happen to choose your current company's ball to compare against that of your old company? I think not. It was quite a cheap shot you old bloke!

Sadly, this isn't the first time that golf announcers have utilized their abundant air time to serve as pitchmen. In the past, I can recall Paul Azinger plugging Nike and Johnny Miller will still occasionally mention Callaway. It's just that this kind of conflict of interest has never been as blatant before as it is now. If an announcer has a relationship with another company, it needs to be disclosed upfront. When I tune into a golf broadcast, I want golf coverage, not an infomercial. It's not like this kind of advertising is effective anyway. How stupid do they think we are?! Now I wonder where I can demo that new Nike driver and buy a box of those hot TaylorMade balls...

Adam Scott: Tiger's Top Challenger?

Butch Harmon believes that one of his current pupils is best poised to take down his former star student, Tiger Woods. Who would that be, you ask? Phil Mickelson would have been a good guess. However, it's not the Joker, but the White Tiger, Adam Scott. According to ESPN, Harmon said, "He (Scott) is the only one who can challenge Tiger Woods in the next four or five years. He's the only one I see of the young players with all the things it takes to get close to Tiger Woods."

That's a pretty bold statement. IMHO, Scott just doesn't possess the short game or putting skills to put him anywhere close to Tiger. On top of that, he hasn't exhibited that "I'm gonna rip your throat out" killer instinct that is a prerequisite for all great athletes. Tiger simply owns the best mental game in golf and no one will be able to beat him on a consistent basis as long as his body holds up.

However, the current #5 player in the world does many things that rival and may even exceed that of the world's #1. In particular, Adam Scott's full swing is a thing of beauty. In fact, it's almost an exact copy of Tiger's swing, circa 2000. I think it's one of the best golf swings of all-time and I was sorry to see Tiger abandon it due to stress on his left knee. But it's really amazing to see how well Adam has copied Tiger's old swing. A while ago, I posted a video comparing the swings of Adam Scott and Tiger Woods side by side. It is one of my personal favorites and remains one of the most viewed videos on this site. Recently, I've uncovered another swing comparison video for your viewing pleasure:



It is quite apparent that Adam has copied Tiger's swing to the "tee". However, it is Tiger Wood's innate ability, intangibles and insane work ethic that will keep him well ahead of the pack over the foreseeable future. Does anyone really think otherwise?

Has Titleist Jumped the Shark?

My friends over at the Sand Trap got the latest scoop on Titleist's upcoming 2008 iron lines. It includes four new models, the AP1, AP2, ZB and ZM. My first reaction was, "Oh crap, has Titleist just jumped the shark?"

"What the hell does that mean?" you ask? Well it's an entertainment industry term that refers to the point when a successful show has passed its peak. The phrase refers to a scene in "Happy Days" where Fonzie (Henry Winkler), wearing swim trunks and his trademark leather jacket, jumps over a shark while water skiing. The sheer ridiculousness of that scene sent the popular TV show into a ratings tailspin. Now it has been used as a metaphor for anything that has passed it's peak. I use it often to describe some of my favorite companies when they start to make crappy products.

For example, one of my favorite car companies was BMW. Ever since I could remember, BMW had consistently improved the aesthetic designs of their cars. Amazingly, each generation of their models had improved upon the previous generation in both form and function. That is, until one Christopher Edward Bangle became BMW's Chief of Design in 1992. Soon thereafter, BMW produced cars that were more Rosie O'Donnell rather than Angelina Jolie. My friends over at The Truth About Cars wrote, "Chris Bangle’s designs are still a shock to the system. I still cringe whenever one of the BMW's 'flame surfaced' 7 Series hoves into view. I still shake my head when I catch a glimpse of a 5 Series’ mascara headlights. I still avert my eyes when any of his models drive past, for fear of glimpsing the rightfully reviled 'Bangle butt.'" I couldn't describe my feelings about the "Bangle Mangle" any better. I swear that the people who buy these new bimmers are suffering from a kind of "beer goggle" phenomenon produced by the BMW badge. Take that bavarian logo away, and they'd quickly realize that their beauty was really a beast. Yes, BMW jumped the shark!

Similarly, I believe that the same fate may be in store for my beloved Titleist. IMHO, Titleist is the premier all-around golf company. If I had to equip myself with golf gear from only one company, there's no doubt that I'd choose Titleist. Most serious golfers would do likewise. But that may all change based on the early teaser shots of their new iron lines. Of course it's premature to base anything from a couple of photos, but aesthetics are an important feature of an iron's design. Unfortunately these new Titleist irons just don't do it for me. They are a dramatic design departure that reminds me of BMW's recent history. Well, I guess it doesn't look like my garage will feature a new bimmer or a new set of Titleists anytime soon!