“This driver is so closed it looks like I might hit my left foot with the ball when I hit it.” How many times have I said or heard this one?

Clubs are designed for specific players and specific deficiencies. A golfer who typically slices the ball would NOT want to go out and play a club designed for a golfer who typically fades the ball. At the same time, those clubs look completely different when compared side by side.

They may have the same color crown, the same color shaft, the same logos on the sole, and they will be so different you could not help but be drawn to one of them optically.
The key is to decide what draws YOU optically.

What I like is of no consequence to you. You don’t have to hit it. I do. So I might like the chartreuse orange shaft with the head that is so open it looks like someone stuck the shaft in there sideways. So what? It is me that has to hit it. You have to hit yours. So you better like what you get.

If it does not look like it will work for you then it will not. Period.

Of course, you can take some time, learn how it plays, and adjust to the club in time. But why would you want to do that? Wouldn’t you like to play immediately with your new club and have the confidence that you are going to split the fairway, or knock it stiff to that tight pin?

If you took the time to get fitted for the proper golf club then you should be able to choose the head of the club that you fall in love with. The whole purpose of custom fitting is to fit a club to your tastes. If you like the way the Cleveland Launcher driver looks, but need a different shaft to make it work, GET IT!

Custom fitting is like going to the restaurant and asking them to hold the onions on that gourmet burger. It is built the way you want it. Like I said before, you might not be able to dictate all the colors, but you have the power in most cases to make sure that the club you get is hot and sexy looking.

Next time you look down at your clubs ask yourself if they look good. If they do not, put into words what you don’t like in terms of the look of the golf club. Maybe you don’t like the way the face looks so shallow. Maybe the crown has markings that you don’t like. Maybe it is too shut, too open, too….anything. Take that information and use it to get the best club for your desires.

Remember, what you like, might not be what your buddy likes. That does not mean he is wrong. He just likes brunettes and you like blondes. Fact is that you like something. Find confidence in that and you will play better golf.

I was working at a store front in Las Vegas with a guy named Joey. Joey was a great guy. Tall as a building and funny as a stand up comedian, Joey was the one that introduced me to the “sexy” golf club. He was a classic let me tell you. A very good golfer, as well as a good guy. Joey pretty much put into words that which I already knew but couldn’t pinpoint. Golfers, and humans, gravitated toward what they felt “looked good.”

We were out on the golf course one-day and I was taking a beating when I asked him if I could give his driver a go. Joey was taller than I was and swung a bit harder, but our abilities were fairly similar so this driver should be just fine for me. I addressed and immediately felt “something” that was different than my normal feeling with my driver. I commented that it looked strange and immediately snap-hooked a drive out of bounds.
We laughed and Joey said something that has stuck with me since. “She just isn’t your blonde is she ha ha.” Not that I am a blonde or a brunette guy, but it made sense. It just wasn’t my brand of vodka. It worked for him and more importantly it looked “sexy” to him.

So the manufacturers design “sexy” into these things. Don’t be fooled, the colors, patterns, logo placement, even the backs of the clubs that you do not see from address, are all carefully designed with one thing in mind. Having you find them “sexy.”

Callaway has designed the back of the Ft-IQ driver to look like the rear end of a Lamborghini. Is it any wonder why so many of your friends that are “traditionalists” play or really like the look of the Titleist equipment? The design is such that it appeals to a golfer that likes a traditional pear shape with no offset. Many manufacturers are building clubs that are open at address for the “traditionalist” because that seems to be what they prefer, optically.

Then there is color. For years department stores and casinos have made no bones about the use of color in influencing us. I used to work at a books, music, and video store that had all the walls painted different colors. Can you guess what the color of the wall was where the exits were located?

Wilson used red in their, aptly named, Deep Red Driver from a few years back. Now why would a driver be red? Red seems to convey a feeling of anger or power. Typically, you will hit a red driver further than say a blue one. Yet, Mizuno uses blue on their drivers. Blue is a calming color optically. Mizuno is banking on you feeling relaxed and calm over their driver.

Confidence is the key here. You have to have confidence in your equipment from a design standpoint as well as an optical standpoint. If you do not like the way your club looks you are already behind the 8 ball.

Part 3 of this series will deal with what looks can do to your performance. Check back. Oh, and the color on the wall with the exits was red…for STOP! It was amazing how well it worked ha ha.

Have you ever been sitting in a bar or at a restaurant and had “that” moment. That moment where your buddy or your colleague or, worst of all, your wife, catches your eyes “wandering” a bit? Have you ever had that conversation where you comment on how hot and sexy that object of your distraction looks? Have you ever had your companion for that drink or dinner differ with you in your opinion of this temptress?

“How is this golf related?” How is it NOT golf related? Like all things in our life, our eyes are the source of our first impressions. Just like that hottie at the end of the bar or the really hot red Ferrari convertible that blazed past my Toyota Turcell, we are drawn to certain looks in our golf equipment.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard “it plays well but looks awful” I would be a very wealthy man. It is like clockwork with us golfers; we can’t get past the optical portion of the game for the life of us. Maybe it is because the game is so optically dependent. With reading greens, judging distance, selecting targets, etc. it sure seems like it is.

And so it is with golf clubs. Every manufacturer champions its clubs as the latest and greatest achievement of technological advancement. Every manufacturer promises distance and accuracy and feel and sound like that of the “perfect” golf club. Have you ever stopped to think, “if they all do that…why are there so many of them?”

The reason is simple. You might not like the way some of them look!

Think of it this way. You are going to buy a car. That car has to have 4 wheels and a seat and a steering wheel. That car has only one function. Get you where you want to go. But it isn’t that easy is it? You can get the Pea Green Family Truckster with the brown paneling, Clark Griswold style, but even though that might be FUNCTIONALLY an answer to your dilemma, what do you do? You go for the Candy Apple Red sports car right? Why? I would guess because that is what is sexy and hot for you.

Golf clubs are sexy and hot. Trust me. Ever pick one up? Ever pick one up and just look at it? With the soft lines, the cool graphics on the shaft, mmmm, the way the light catches just “so” in the paint on the crown, OH BABY!!!!

Okay, I am going to need a couple moments…..check back for part 2 of this segment in a couple days………Who’s got a smoke?

For starters one of the hardest parts of golfing can be simply finding your ball. Now as I have progressed as a golfer, I have noticed that my ability to find stray golf balls has improved. Regardless of whether it is my buddies golf ball he sliced twenty yards to the right of the fairway we were playing, or if it is my own shot on the 18th tee after the sun went down 2 holes ago. There are two major culprits during the colder months that can quickly make an easy task, such as finding your ball very difficult to do. The first one I’m sure happens to all of us who play courses with deciduous trees outlining the course, dealing with all the fallen leaves. Prime example of this was last Thursday on the first tee (which is a short par 4, only 389 yards and a slight dog leg to the right) and I hit a pretty well struck ball that just barely ran through the fairway straight. Now take into consideration I have played this particular course about 50+ times, so trust me this isn’t the first time I have managed to hit this same shot off the first tee. So since I know I have played out of there before I didn’t think for a minute that it would take more then a minute trying to find my tee shot, as it ends up I was thinking very optimistically. I did end up finding my ball but lets just say it was a good thing nobody was teeing up behind us.

The second thing that would anger any golfer is hitting a great tee shot in the middle of the fairway only to walk out there and not see your golf ball, anywhere! This is the result of a plugged golf ball. Any course that doesn’t drain well and/or gets hit hard with some rainy weather can do this. Fortunately this only happened once to me on my last golf outing, and the better news was I did actually find the golf ball. It just took me practically standing on the ball to find it, as if the ball was hidden under ten inches of rough. Although I did find that drive, there have been numerous times where this has happened to me and I haven’t found my golf ball. As any golfer knows sometimes the ball just doesn’t roll your way, but losing a ball you know hit the middle of the fairway… now that’s what I call getting the short end of the stick.

Now without a doubt the worst part about golfing in the cold, windy, and wet conditions of the fall and winter, has to be the cold, windy, and wet part. Now, unlike trying to find your ball in the middle of hundreds of leaves, or having to dig up your plugged ball as if you were playing in middle of a swamp, the one thing we can control is how we prepare for the battle with nature. Some gear that can help you enjoy a round of golf even if the weather isn’t working in your favor is definitely a good pair of waterproof golf shoes and some solid rain gear. The hardest I laughed recently while golfing had to be when my friend was trying to use his ball retriever. He was standing at the edge of a pond and he somehow managed to loose his footing and slip into the water at about knee level. Granted his feet got wet due to wading in water and not just walking the course, but his feet were wet for the remainder of the round and he was miserable. The part of this story that relates to a good pair of dry shoes is at the end of that same round my feet were about as wet as his due to the fact my shoes let more water in then kept water out. Needless to say before I went golfing again I picked myself up the most comfortable golf shoes I have ever worn, and most importantly they keep my feet perfectly dry. The other must have for winter golfers is some good rain gear. A couple of weeks ago I bought the Sun Mountain long sleeve pullover and also the matching rain pants. Both are completely water proof to keep you dry, they are also stretchable and breathable. I have not come across anything else that compares the same. The fact that it’s all water proof but yet it can breathe makes the clothing much more practical to wear on days when you’re not completely sure what the weather might do. I mentioned earlier that it was also stretchable, which is perfect because you need to be able to move freely while taking a golf swing.

I have played my first round of fall golf this year and although I did have to endure some less than desirable conditions, to answer whether or not it was worth it, my answer is… always.

The USGA & The R & A have had their hands full the last 10-15 years in regards to all the rules and regulations they have had to implement due to the increasing innovation by golf club manufacturers. What would golf be like without regulations? 600cc sized driver? Electronic Caddyshack putters that guarantee a one put on every hole? Let’s face it, restrictions are necessary. But does tighter restrictions on club design and technology limit a companies product development?

Note to golf companies – Golfers are pretty savvy consumers. Don’t try and fool them by re-hashed versions of last year’s model and pass it off as ‘New & Improved’. Money is tight now days, and if you expect your product line to succeed you best bring your A-game when it comes to technology and design.

Are companies like Titleist, Callaway and TaylorMade’s better days are behind them?

If you believe in some of the rumors and sightings regarding of the 2009 product line, it’s shaping up to be a pretty descent year!

One of the highlights will be Nike’s new DYMO series of drivers and fairway woods coming this February. Building off the success of their SQ SUMO 5000 and 5900 drivers, the Nike SQ DYMO (Dynamic Moment of Inertia) will still be available in a round head and square head model, but it’s their STR8-FIT system that will set them apart from the competition. The STR8-FIT model will allow the user to manipulate the drivers head position & loft, all by adjusting the clubs shaft and hosel weight. The driver can be setup into 8 different positions – 3 closed, 2 neutral and 3 open, with the lie angle changing slightly in each position. This will allow the user to customize the DYMO and adjust it to their particular swing, giving them more control over their shot trajectory and ball flight.

The STR8-FIT DYMO might just be the technology that helps lead Nike to driver dominance in 2009.

Next post I will talk about a couple more drivers that are set to be introduced in February – The Callaway Diablo and the Adams Speedline.

That being said, this Upro GPS is INSANE!!!

Okay, we have talked about the golf GPS stuff before and I said before that I was not sold until they could do the same things that a cart GPS can do. I have ridden in carts with GPS systems and they are so cool. They basically know where your cart is and give you an overhead map of the hole you are playing. Very useful.
Up to this point, that has been almost nonexistent in the hand-held GPS market. Sonnocaddie did an overhead map on the V300 model, but the uPro company took the overhead map to the next level.

The uPro has an actual photo and flyover of the golf course and the hole you are on to help you. No “cartoon” or “video game” looking map. Not just numbers to tell you where you are at. This is a real picture of the hole that you are playing. If you have watched any PGA Tour television broadcasts, it is like having Roger Maltbie or Johnny Miller in a helicopter flying over YOUR golf course before you play.

Now, of course Johnny Miller and Roger Maltbie are not going to talk about the hole, and they didn’t even fly over it, but the point is that you are going to get an actual “lay of the land” from this unit before you tee your ball!

The other cool feature of this unit is that it will decipher where you are on the particular hole and “rotate” its photo to give you a look at what you, not only are seeing, but what you do not see on the same line you are playing on. Let me give you an example.

If you pulled your drive into the trees on a dogleg left, you might only see trees in front of you. The uPro unit will give you the “real life” photo of what you are seeing and then what is between you and the green. This means that if you are in those trees and can not see the hidden bunker between you and the green, the unit will fly over it to show you where it is. It is so cool.

Okay,you all know me, I have to find a cloud in every silver lining and here it is. This unit is very new and so it is not as extensive in its mapped library of courses as some of the others. The only other downside is the yearly fee that you have to pay, but, as you know, most of the GPS units have a fee associated with them too. Last, this unit is unable to give you distance to the actual hole just like all the others. Front, middle and back of the green is all it can tell you JUST like all the others.

If you are looking for a GPS that looks realistic and provides visual looks at the golf course, as well as the standard distances to hazards and points of interest, you might want to check out the uPro GPS unit. They have a killer demo on their website that gives you the performance of the unit. Pretty cool stuff!

Want your new car customized? No problem. What was that you said? Hold the lettuce on that Whopper? No problem. Want your irons built 2* flat with a shaft made in a country most have never heard of? No problem. And now shoes…

Want your initials on your shoes? No problem!

FootJoy has joined the world of customization with the MyJoys line of shoes. The MyJoy allows you to customize, not just the color, of the shoe that you will wear, but allows you to customize the way the shoe looks by having your initials or even your favorite Baseball or Football team’s logo on the shoe. You can even show the pride of your alma matter by having a collegiate logo on the shoe.

First you choose the style of shoe you would like. From DryJoys to Contour Series, the choices abound once you get to the customization steps….

The first choice you will have is the base color of the shoe. This is the easiest part of the process, really. Black, brown, or white are your choices. Pretty simple until you add in the real fun. The saddle color choice is next. This one is more fun. There are over 55 choices of saddle color for each base color. If you want a pair of shoes to match those plaid knickers you just found at the vintage clothing store? No problem. I will bet there is a matching color in these choices.

What about a pair to show your love for the Masters golf tournament? Try the white base color with a #434 green smooth saddle and you will have a customized pair of champions green shoes to go with that Green Jacket you are gunning for, even if you are not in contention anywhere but your imagination.

But the coolest, in my opinion, is the way you can show your team colors with these shoes. I already have the Seahawks headcover, I have the Seahawks hat, I even have a Seahawks polo shirt if I choose. NOW….I can have the Seahawks shoes to round out the outfit.

But the customization does not stop at the colors or the logo of your favorite NFL, MLB, or Collegiate team. No no no, the MyJoys take custom fitting a step further by allowing you to customize the size of each shoe!

Have you ever worn a pair of shoes and thought to yourself how great one felt and how awful the other felt? Did you know that most of us have one foot that is larger than the other? Did you know that the MyJoys will let you order a size 10 left foot and a size 9 1/2 Wide right foot if that is what fits you best?

So I can put my initials on a shoe with any color combination I choose and even have my favorite sports team put on it? On top of that, I can order a pair of shoes with 2 different size shoes in it to properly fit my feet?

Unreal….customization has its benefits beyond just wanting something nobody else might have. With over 400 different choices, I really can get exactly what I want. Gotta love that.

The latest rage in putters is weight.

I have seen the rages be inserts, (original Odyssey comes to mind) aiming aides, (the SeeMore was the one that rings in my head the most) Putter construction, (anyone remember the “Gray Matter” of the Never Compromise) and even shape (first Mallets then the Ping Doc 17).

Now we are on to weight. The biggest rage being heavier as opposed to lighter. I can understand the desire for a heavier putter. Most golfers have trouble keeping their putter steady through the putting stroke. You have heard it said “It felt like I wrote my name with that stroke” when one of your buddies misses a putt…heavier will combat that problem.

So, what do I choose when it comes to a putter that promotes a heavier weight?

There are a bunch of choices. Some are fixed in weight like the Heavy Putter. This putter is the heaviest of the group and is surprisingly easy to use. I suggest using a cart bag if you play this putter so you do not have to carry the added weight ha ha.

Another fixed heavy weight putter is the Scotty Cameron Studio Series Heavy putter. The Scotty Cameron stuff is the creme de le creme of the putter world. There are few, if any, putters that feel like a Cameron. For this reason alone, I have a few Scotty Cameron putters and I cherish each one of them.

I really want to experiment with variable weight putters, though. Of the available choices for adjustable weight putters on the market, I am very intrigued by the Ping iWi. The name sounds like the Nintendo game, but the idea here is sound. The putter has up to 9 different adjustable weight combinations in the two different weight ports. Adjusting the weight will allow you to find what feels best for you, and that is what it is all about in this game.

I love the idea of the adjustable weights. I think the idea is more practical in a putter than it is in a driver, and drivers have been doing it for years. The concept should work and will allow the player the option of customizing his putter based on feel, putting style, and green speed.

Customization is the wave in golf and putters are no exception. Buy into the wave and you might be able to lower your scores.

Suffice it to say, I don’t understand the concept. She needs something to put her belongings in that she needs every day. It would be terribly inconvenient for her to carry them in her hands all day.

But why does she need different colors and different styles…and why do they have to cost an arm and a leg for each one?

I don’t get it…until she puts it in my terms. You see, I have a couple of golf bags. In fact, I have more than my fair share of golf bags. I have different colors, different sizes, different styles, and even different brands. Like she has her purses, I have my golf bags and once she put that in perspective for me, I finally got it.

Golf bags are more fashion than they are function after you decide what style of bag you are going to use. The bag is more about the color or the way it looks with your favorite golf outfit than it is about the size of the pockets or the accessibility of the water bottle as it sits in your bag. But you have to decide on a few functional aspects of the bag before you decide on the color.

First thing I do is decide what use of the bag I am going to have. Am I going to walk and carry my bag with me? Am I going to put the bag on a push cart? Do I typically ride in a cart when I play? These questions will pretty much decide for you if you are going to use a stand bag or a cart bag.

Stand bags are built with the walking golfer in mind. They are fitted with legs that extend to hold the bag up when you set the bag down. Cart bags, on the other hand, are without legs and so they perform best when riding in a cart or on a push cart. Typically stand bags are smaller and lighter and cart bags are larger with more storage space.

Just because you decide on a stand bag does not mean that you can not use that bag on a cart and vice versa, but the designs of each bag lend themselves for the specific use they are designed for. Stand bags are typically the most versatile due to their weight. Cart bags are much heavier and so they pose a task to carry them for 18 holes.

I use a stand bag from Ping called the Ping Hoofer. I like the size of the bag. It is large enough to carry all the stuff I need (snack, water bottle, golf balls, tees, etc.) and it is light enough to not kill me to carry it for an 18 hole round. I am very intrigued by the Sun Mountain brand of bags and the Swift X Carry Bag in particular. It is one of the lightest bags on the market and still has enough pockets for my stuff.

I have never used a cart bag. If I were to use one I would probably give the Sun Mountain C-130 a go. It has an individual compartment for every club in the bag and comes with a “putter well” set aside from the rest of the clubs for easy access. It looks great and is one of the lighter cart bags out there. Another cart bag I like the look of is the Taylor Made San Marino. With 14 individual dividers for the clubs and weighing in at 4.8 pounds, this bag would be one I would not worry about carrying if I chose to do so every now and then.

Once you have decided between carry bags or cart bags, you are ready to make the biggest decision of them all…what color goes with the shoes that you just got. I would suggest having the wife along to make that decision easier.

PLAY WELL!!!!!

This year I got home though. It was fantastic. I got to see my family as well as my nieces and nephews. It was great! The only deterrent to it being the best Christmas ever was the almost 6 feet of snow that resided over the entire city of Spokane.

Now I do not golf much over Christmas due to the areas I live. Seattle is not exactly the balmiest of weather come December, and Spokane may as well be the North Pole most Christmases. I did play once on Christmas day in Vegas in a wind storm so strong it almost blew me over. It was 37* that day which is darn near unbearable for Vegas. But I was there.

So this was one of those “cabin fever” Christmases as far as golf went. No playing, nothing of substance, golfwise, on TV (I do not consider the ADT Skills Challenge “substance” as it relates to golf on TV). So I just enjoyed family time.

When I got back to Seattle, I discovered snow here too………NOW it is getting crazy. Seattle is not known for the best golf weather this time of year, but it also not known for feet of snow at any one time. I was expecting to come back and get at least a round in before the New Year passed. Boy was I wrong.

So I did the next best thing. I bought myself a set of Nike Victory Red Forged wedges.

I did not receive any golf stuff for Christmas. I think most of my family has given up on that since I work in the business and I am very particular about the way my equipment looks. So I said a Merry Christmas to myself, with the help of a very generous gift from Mom and Dad…..Thanks guys, I love you!

So I went with a 52*,56*, and a 60* for the first time in my entire career.

I am stoked to go play now…..and I am staring at snow. I should have asked for plane tickets to anywhere warm…..but, then again……

My birthday is quickly approaching (hint, hint)