Precise Golf Offers Affordable Improvement

M5 Ladies Clubs by Precise Golf

     
     Sometimes it just takes a few degrees.  That is the difference in loft and lie and cut and grind between my last set of clubs and the M5 Ladies Clubs by Precise Golf  that I've recently been playing.  But that was all it took to get at least 10 more yards with every shot and fine-tune my aim.
    
     Thoughtful details include tactile finger/palm pad designs that instinctually remind the hands of correct grip positioning.  Clubs glide smoothly along the cushioned fabric dividers on the bag, quieting and protecting the shafts and heads.  Extreme heel/toe weighting on the oversize irons really creates a larger sweet spot.


     The 460cc driver is incredibly forgiving, resulting in 15 more yards for me on almost every drive.  And the high M.O.I. mallet-style putter is very like some I was recommended to try at several PGA Merchandise Shows.  It sits comfortably in the hands and putts are very accurate.
 

     I also realized how much I missed a stand bag.  Most of our walking days may be behind us but the backpack straps are so comfortable and the bag is so light that I might be tempted to hoof it more often.


     The Precise Ladies' M5 Set includes a 460cc driver, 15 degree 3-wood, 21 degree hybrid, 3 head covers, 5 through PW oversize irons, mallet-style putter and stand bag with rain hood and ample storage.  If you are ready to take a step forward, the Ladies M5's are a great price with a MSRP of $299.99 US, come in left-hand, right-hand, regular, tall and petite, and are available online at www.PreciseGolf.com.

     Precise Golf also carries Men's, Teen's and Junior sets as well as hand carts, golf bags and accessories while focusing on quality, affordability and superior customer service.

Keep Comfortable And Keep Your Focus

     Hot, humid Florida summers can add more than a few strokes to a Garden Variety Golfer's game but we have recently tried out some gear that is helping us keep our focus and may help you, too.

Lamkin's new Flat Cat Solution grip is designed to align the hands with the putter face and instantly brought us back to better posture.  Its flat shape takes away some of the tendency for the guiding hand to over steer.  A patented balance weight feels like it increases the MOI.  The oversized cushion of soft polyurethane takes away a lot of hand tension.  And it feels good in rain or shine.

Results: less twisting of the putter head, better tracking on long putts and more go on the ball that gets it to the hole.

Lamkin Flat Cat Solution Grip

     Aging eyes, or any eyes, for that matter, will benefit from protection against the sun's damaging UVA, B and C rays, whatever latitude you play in.  This summer took us from Florida through the Rockies and into the high Southwestern deserts of the United States, and we made sure to take sunglasses along for the trip.  Whether you wear a pair through an entire round or in between shots, eyewear should be part of your golfwear.

Under Armour Octane Eyewear

 

     The new Game Day Eyewear from Under Armour is comprised of some of the lightest-weight components in sport eyewear.  Zeiss lenses with exceptional impact resistance and visual clarity across the lens are designed specifically for ball sports.  As for comfort, Under Armour's fully adjustable nose pieces and anatomical temple design make these sunglasses a perfect fit for any face.

Under Armour Game Day Lens

Bolle Kicker with Photo V3 Golf Lens

     Bolle continues its tradition of more than 60 years of sleek and innovative eyewear with special attention turned to craftsmanship and detail.  Their Modulator V3 Golf eyewear uses the highest quality patented B-Clear lens.  It has extraordinary impact resistance and clarity, is treated with hydrophobic and oleophobic coatings and is photochromatic - adjusting for changes in shadow and light.

Bolle Tempest NXT with Photo V3 Oleo Golf Lens

Results:  new coatings resist rain, smudges and fog; frames are strong but light-weight and detail is being given to temple grips and nose pads so slippage during extreme weather is minimized; lens colors help players of all ability to notice contrast and subtleties.

Lacoste Pique L.12.12 Boxer Brief

     And as fabrics blend new levels of chemistry with technology, we'll mention unmentionables here because a comfortable swing begins with comfortable clothing.  Celebrating a new association with The President's Cup by providing the wardrobes for both the US and International Teams, Lacoste showcases its full complement of design on the golf course.  The iconic crocodile appears on their traditional polos as well as classically tailored jackets, sweaters, chinos and bermudas.  But at the very core of a man's wardrobe are those undergarments that can make all the difference.  Lacoste's L.12.12 Pique Boxer Brief blends Pima cotton with Modal fibers for a smooth, soft fabric that is absorbent, breathes and is cool to the touch.  A seamless waistband completes the smooth look.
Results:  cool, classic and comfortable.

An Arnie Story

September 25, 2017




     I didn't play golf as a kid.  Or in High School.  It was not until we were in our 30's that my husband and I picked up a club outside of a miniature golf course.  But I knew Arnie.
     Like someone knows a distant relative, Arnie felt like family as I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, watching him on those 1960's Sundays when  Dad would be kicked back with his feet on the couch, sun and shadows coming in through the windows, quiet hushes on TV until Mr. Palmer turned on the electric.
     Mr. Palmer shares his birthday with my husband, September 10th, and the more auspicious anniversary of his passing, September 25th, happens to be Dad's birthday.  He looked like my Dad.
     We had the pleasure of attending Bay Hill in 2014 and will always remember the one time we've seen Arnie, on the driving range speaking with Brandt Snedeker.  You could see their connection, the young man and his idol.  But surrounded by camera crews, spectators and players, Mr. Palmer's charm made us all feel as if we were part of the conversation.
     We were home in June 2016 for the US Open and passed by the entrance of Latrobe on our way to play a little Laurel Highlands golf that week.  Arnie was there as well, was home at Latrobe, unable to partake in the celebration down in Oakmont and as we drove past I whispered a wish for him to get well.  If anything could have healed him, the Laurel Highlands would have.
     We had Dad with us that day.  He, like Arnie, was everyman.  When he took a job with Alcoa in Pittsburgh, he was a young man from Iowa, part farm boy, part chemical engineer, having attended Iowa State on an NROTC scholarship that would also make him a Navy Pilot.  As we drove past Latrobe that day, he told us his own Arnie story.
    He told us how a group from his department at Alcoa met with Mr. Palmer in the early 60's to see if aluminum shafts might hold up to his swing.  As the new guy in the office, Dad mostly hovered by the door, brought coffee and listened in while Mr. Palmer was surrounded by business partners, chemists and engineers who talked with Palmer about metallurgy, tinsel strength and new fabrication methods.  Dad says he was just a bystander but he clearly remembered Mr. Palmer's charm making him feel as if he were part of the conversation.
     At the time aluminum was deemed too soft a metal for a swing like Mr. Palmer's but it would only be a few years before aluminum alloys were making their way to golf club manufacturers.  And Dad would have an Arnie story that he remembered for the rest of his life.


For an interesting look back at the beginnings of aluminum shafts, go to Roger Ganem's article in the February 1968 issue of Golfdom entitled "The Aluminum Shaft Dilemma":
http://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/golfd/article/1968feb36.pdf
    
    

2017 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Arnie's Place



March 13, 2017

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Orlando, Florida

    It was Monday, a soft day.  A peaceful day.  A day of reflection and final preparation.  Of sincere volunteers wishing you a good day as they manned their posts and grounds crews working as diligently as ever, patrons quietly respectful, as if he might appear at any moment, on any fairway or tee box or green, at the Nursery, in the Pro Shop of The Lodge that he could have just as easily folded into the Laurel Highlands of Western Pennsylvania as here at the edge of the limestone crest of Florida that runs down the center of the state.  It certainly feels like the end of the ridge that connects the two homes of his heart - Latrobe and Bay Hill.

     Bay Hill is a beautiful place and if I were Arnie I can imagine spending a

little extra time in a few favorite spots.  After the driving range where he could be among his players and in reach of his fans, he might have stopped along the left side approach to the 18th green where the houses are still that 1960's size and style, sitting in that mini bleacher with the gentleman who looked as if he were missing his friend. 

     But today the man was kept company by a quiet lab and we spent a few minutes with him, sharing a smile as a wayward ball from Monday's Pro-Am barely missed a marshall about 10 yards from us.  "You've got a great spot here."  "Yes, indeed!"

    

    

     And as the front nine loops around that great big lake he could have taken his cart to sit among the grove of live oaks that line the 4th and 5th, looking out over the osprey and grounds crew, working so hard to make their living under the sun, softened by clouds. 

     The osprey seems to work tirelessly.  Not the largest bird of prey but with strong wings and against many odds, once in a while losing its trophy catch to a larger hawk or majestic eagle, it's as blue collar as the man who built this place.  Hovering, working and fishing a waterway, it's much like watching a master at golf. 

 

 

     Yes.  I can see Arnie spending a little extra time here.

    

2017 PGA Merchandise Show

January 25-26, 2017

Orange County Convention Center

Orlando, Florida


Welcome to The 2017 PGA Merchandise Show, "The MAJOR of Golf Business"

     With more than 10 miles of showcase aisles, a million square feet of interactive exhibits and 40,000 attendees aiming to elevate and celebrate the business of golf, the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida is home each January to The PGA Merchandise Show. 

 

 

     The 2017 PGA Show coincided with several landmark events in our lives - retirement, which has thankfully given us more time for golf, and the start of cataracts, which pointed us in the direction of eyewear.  According to the American Optometric Association, the chances of long-term eye damage like cataracts and macular degeneration increase dramatically with exposure to UV-A and UV-B radiation, particularly prevalent in outdoor activities like golf.  Good quality sunglasses will block out the 99-100% that is recommended but there is much more to the science of eye protection than that.

    

     The shape of sport lenses and frames has developed to wrap side to side and top to bottom, blocking pollens and irritants, drying wind and side glare.  New coatings reduce fog on the inside as well as water and smudges on the outside while frames merge strength and flexibility with the safety needed in sporting conditions.

Photo Courtesy of Henrik Stenson Eyewear - Iceman

     Henrik Stenson, an exceptional golfer with a lifetime of allergies and eye sensitivity, has developed 3 lines of eyewear that are stylishly Scandenavian in design - HS Performance for golfers, a classic Street collection and an Optical range of prescriptive frames.  Henrik Stenson Eyewear feature a trademarked Powereye lens that reduces reflection and fatigue while maintaining color balance and the attention to detail is obvious.  His signature "Iceman" frames also come in a Junior line that encourages an early start to protecting those young, transparent eyes when retinas are even more at risk.

    

     Tifosi Optics was created in 2003 by cyclists and runners from the University of Georgia focusing on providing value-oriented, sturdy eyewear.  Sports enthusiasts from golfers to baseball players to surfers have discovered them and Tifosi has developed sport-specific lenses to satisfy their demand.  All-Sport Interchangeable models come with three sets of high-quality shatterproof polycarbonate lenses such as a full-sun protection, a high contrast and a golf-specific greens-reading lens.  They also offer an interesting variety of prescription and aided-vision solutions as well as tactical eyewear and Fototec photochromatic glasses that can adapt to rapidly changing shadows and environments.

    

     Under Armour is a proud partner this year with the Association of Professional Tour Caddies, providing more than 26 caddies with an assortment of styles featuring their Game Day lens that enhances color contrast of a white ball against green backgrounds.

 Their adult and "Rookie" youth glasses have multi-positioning nose pads that are extremely comfortable, extended Armour Sight lenses that include storm coating and flexible frames that are almost weightless, providing a custom, secure fit through any golf swing.

     Bolle boasts a Trivex lens which offers clarity closest to glass while still rating very high in impact-resistance.  Their origin in the French Alps and then post-WWII growth into the nylon industry gave them early entrée into the sunglass business with first finely-worked frames for ski goggles, then après ski wear and now sport and eye protection for customers the world-over.  Bolle uses an anti-reflective coating that keeps side-glare from building between the face and lens and they offer a large variety of lens and frame colors as well as a prescriptive program and their Modulator lenses with photochromatic technology.

     Lens color has a science all to itself.  For years Dad field-trained his labs with yellow-tinted lenses- good for long-distance depth perception, he says; they used grey or brown to reduce glare when he flew for the Navy.  And it works for golf, too.  Browns and ambers enhance terrain contrast and grey is comfortable in extremely bright conditions.  Recently support has been building for violet when it comes to reading greens by filtering out a higher percentage of blue light that blurs grass definition in high light.  And by the way, leave those polarized glasses in the boat - they'll take the sheen right off the grass and you'll miss an important break component!

     Enjoying the opportunities to report every bit of news we could included several social events that celebrated success and new ventures.  Folds of Honor annually throws a party during The PGA Show to thank its supporters for their generous commitment to their cause.  This year that included a fantastic 2-hour Dierks Bentley show, a Wing Man and enthusiastic participant in the Memorial Weekend Patriot Cup. Thank YOU, Folds and Dierks!

    

    

Photo courtesy of LACOSTE

     And the new partnership of Lacoste with The President's Cup was revealed this week, displaying their team uniforms, outerwear and casual lines that will for the first time outfit both the U. S. and International teams, drawing on their global apparel experience.

    

    

    
     Tournament promoters were stopping to see the Tee Trees.  Such a simple concept for corporate and tournament promotions!  Why didn't anyone think of this before?  Mini-billboard rentals that have changeable vinyl "slap-ons" and hold up to 1,000 tees - perfect, portable promotions!

    

    

     Caddysnax, a division of Fitful, offers healthy snacks to fuel a player through 18 holes as well as marketing and tournament sponsorship opportunities in and on every clever box!

     Another interesting idea in golf promotions is offered by

Tee 2 Green Visuals. They call it Virtual Real Estate - basically a digital version of the yardage book which has commercial partner advertising and tournament applications.

     But in our hearts we are quite old-school and collectors of memorabilia.  We really enjoyed our chat with Tom Goellner, Art Director for Shot Selector which for 30 years has produced a line of accessories that began with yardage books.  They have grown to include just about any logo product imaginable while maintaining their small corporate structure.  Longevity in golf - something we all strive for.

 

     Johnny Miller was a nice surprise at Zero Friction Golf Gloves. He was sporting their Distance Pro GPS Glove on his left hand and signing autographs with it, too - a natural leftie who played right-handed and he smiled when we were surprised by that.  It could not have been easy for him to adapt when he was young but those struggles to find a way to play create our finest players.

     TaylorMade was showing off not only its M1 and M2 drivers, revamped and reamped with 43% more carbon in the crown than last year, allowing maximum weight to the sole and rear that optimizes loft and launch, but also a hall full of their players' trophies from 2016.



Olympic Gold - Justin Rose




BMW Championship - Jason Day




The Players Championship - Jason Day

The AT&T Byron Nelson - Sergio Garcia

 

 

 





The US Open Championship - Dustin Johnson

    

PGA Senior Professional Championship - Steve Schneiter

PGA Professional Championship - Rich Berberian

Ping's Oslo Mallet combines an aerospace-grade aluminum head that is fully machined at Ping with a stainless steel sole plate for a noticeable increase in MOI - moment of inertia.  The higher the MOI, the more likely the ball is to roll straight off the face. 

    

Higher MOI's can be attained by redistributing mass as far away from the center of the face as possible, allowing for some very interesting shapes.  The Odyssey Toulon Design Indianapolis is their first Super High MOI mallet - a sleek shape combined with their deep diamond milling creates accurate

                                        roll and distance across a wide range of the face.

 Areso's putters are eye-catching.  Boasting 60,000 combinations of shapes and weights, they also offered a Kine-Fit session and followed up on our fitting with a digital report for a best match.  It was our first professional putter fitting and we're looking forward to testing their findings.

                               

     We found more FootJoys tucked in between the club testing stations and tried on the women's waterproof Breath Easy empower with their new Boa Closure System for Dialed In Fit.  FootJoy comfort and instant fit borrowed from medical, orthotic and snowboard boot technology - it's a brand new world!

 

    

     The beauty of Ouul Bags is in every detail.  The tactile feel of the fabric, especially their quilted Ribbed Collection, is elegant and the waterproof zippers and finger toggles are the finest quality available.  Sets go beyond the standard shoe bag and include a vast array of luggage options. 

     Our last few hours at the show were spent visiting with friends old and new.  Alan Maloney at Golf Ireland felt like both - so warm and welcoming, assuring us that we're all Irish, especially if we come to Ireland!  Definitely on our bucket list, his Mount Falcon Estate sits in the heart of the western counties within an easy drive of courses like Enniscrone and Rosses Point.  But we may never want to leave this restored manor with its salmon and fly-fishing, clay shooting and tale-telling to enchant us at this 100 acre estate on the banks of the River Moy.

     The Fuchshumer Family of Easy Pitch travelled to their first PGA show with an excitement and enthusiasm that comes from having a new patent and strong family bond.  The best ideas are born of necessity and as Roland Fuchshumer was recuperating from back problems his divot repair tool migrated to the end of his putter.  A sleek design that is well-engineered and well-made, our lower back complaints appreciate this new product!

     Shinama Golf also creates finely-detailed tools.  Even the insides of their match-book style corporate tee packages are printed in full color and their rep explained the thought behind their elevated tee stands - Japanese courses are often frozen!

    

    

     We stopped to say hello to the guys at Salute Military Golf Association.  Their ambassadors Brian Lowen and his service buddy Kairo were taking a break after putting in many miles and we took a few minutes to say how much their organization has meant to us.  Their focused foundation brings rehabilitative golf clinics and opportunities to post-9/11 U. S. service members who are recovering from severe injury and PTSD.  SMGA was started by Jim Estes, former PGA tour pro whose teaching career centers around Olny Golf Park near Walter Reed Medical Center.  He saw the need and knew the life-changing potential that golf could have in rehabilitative programs at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital.  They have since served over 2,000 Veterans across the country through their Warrior Golf Clinics and American Golfer Program.

     Clearly, sports can be an integral part of a team commitment that can be missing in an individual's rehabilitation, particularly for our military.  We report back to Dad on the groups we support and see at the show because while his naval career officially ended 30 years ago, he always likes to know who's out there fighting for his guys and gals.

     And having lived in Pittsburgh for the last 55 years, he has a fondness for Dick's Sporting Goods

who moved their headquarters there when many industries had moved away, leaving a void in the city's tax base that created shock waves in school budgets, particularly affecting allocations for arts and sports.  Dick's national Sports Matter Campaign had its roots in their charitable involvement in the Pittsburgh community where sports have historically played a significant role in our City of Champions.  This week CEOs Ed Stack of Dick's Sporting Goods and Pete Bevacqua of the PGA of America announced a 3-year commitment with The First Tee and Boys & Girls Clubs of America through PGA Junior League Golf to further establish the firm footing that we as golfers know our children need.  Click here for their video interview with Gary Williams on Golf Channel.

     And with one last stop at an unassuming booth toward the back of the textile pavilion in the giant convention hall, we gave our regards to the folks at Arnold Palmer Apparel whose logo,

"LOOK GREAT.  DO GOOD.", finishes with these words:

"To Benefit Arnie's Army Charitable Foundation."

     We're looking forward to Bay Hill.

For a look at our full report of the 2017 PGA Outdoor Demo Day from Orange County National Golf Center go to

The Garden Variety Golfer Reports From The 2017 PGA Outdoor Demo Day