In the Rough

With golf one of the biggest sports across the world and every week millions of people tuning in to the live  coverage, companies are spending big on banner stands to get their company logo seen.

Banner Stands emblazoned with a company image, product or slogan can be found anywhere from the entrance to the course to the 18th Hole. In some tournaments you may find an image of a brand new car as a Hole-In-One can easily earn a golfer a new set of wheels.

Large banner stands have also been found in the US and UK studios where the presenters often analyse the day / weekend play. Titleist are just one of the major golf companies that use banner stands to advertise a new product, you can often see the latest golf driver pictured on a large banner stand in a golf shop near you.

With every golfer their comes a time when new golf clubs are required, more and more golfers are going online for purchasing for many reasons. But be careful as you could make a costly mistake.

The next few posts I will concentrate on the best tips to follow when buying golf clubs online.

The Seller
Online golf companies often have the best prices for golf clubs however by shopping for golf clubs online you lose the lack of being able to feel or test the clubs. To counter act this problem some online retailers will offer a refund scheme or even a short trial period of a few days. Both very much worth while checking before purchasing.

Danish golf shoe manufacturer Ecco have announced their new golf shoe range for 2009 with the “Ultra Performance” leading the way and been seen as the most advanced golf shoe to date for Ecco.

The Ultra Performance will be available in three colours black, white and a unique buffed silver and should be available in 2009 at a retail price of £150.

Now yes that could be a bit steep for the average golfer but the Ultra Performance shoes have been designed for long lasting comfort and durability.

Ecco golf shoes are worn by top golfers through the world including Fred Couples, Colin Montgomerie, Stuart Appleby, Thomas Bjorn, Arjun Atwal, Thongchai Jaidee and John Bickerton.

Even the oldest of traditions are moving with the times and going online. Forgan who were established back in 1860 are one of the oldest golf club manufacturers. Over their 149 year history they have created some of the most innovative golf clubs and always maintained a high level of attention to detail. 

Recently Forgan have taken their presence into the Cyber world and created a six easy step process on their website to finding the right clubs for you.  By following the six easy questions it enables them to distinguish the clubs that are right for you.

The online service allows golfers to be “fitted” for their golf clubs online and then proceed through to check out and order from the comfort of your own home or clubhouse.

So now golf fitting is done online is it starting to spell the end for small golf shops? The current financial climate doesnt help but golf is going 21st Century and this cannot be ignored.

European Tour Professional Simon Hurd finally brought his popular belts and buckles a step closer to the end user last week with his appearance at the PGA Merchandise Show, which was this year held at the Orange County Convention Centre in Florida.

The show ran for three days from last Thursday and featured some of golf’s biggest brands with many different products and technologies on show one of which was Druh Belt’s and Buckles.

Okay it doesn’t physically help your game but it can make you look good on the course, which can be very important to some players.

Up until the PGA Merchandise Show Druh Belts were only available to and worn by top golfers with 2 current Ryder Cup Players, six major winners and over a 100 players from the European and Asian Tour all wearing the Druh belts.

The leather Druh Belts compromise of 10 different water snake skins, which target both males and females with the turquoise to pink colour range.  

Now every golfer in some point or in most cases several times intheir golfing life would of either taken a putt on a green only to find it hit an uneven bobble you failed to see, which in fact was someone else’s failed attempt to repair the pitch mark or repaired a pitch mark yourself that accidentally was less than satisfactory. Well this could now be a thing of the past thanks to Softspikes.

Softspikes are a leader in manufacturing green-saving products and their enhanced technology seems to have come up with the best product yet.

The new repair tool has a push type feature that encourages and makes it easier for golfers to push the tool into the ground and correctly repair the pitch mark. By aiding golfers in pushing the pitch mark in it allows the roots to be savoured and therefore cutting down the recovery time of those pitch marks on the greens.

An average pitch repair could take 2 - 3 weeks to fully recover after the golfer has torn the roots up but with the new tool used properly it could mean that pitch marks are repaired with days not weeks.

A great idea and hopefully to be seen and available very soon.

One of Golf’s leading manufacturers in bags PING has announced the next generation of Golf Bag aimed at both male and female golfers.

Should you be a lady or gentleman who use an electric or pull trolley rather than carry your clubs for 18 long holes then this innovative new bag is aimed at you, why?

The Outlander (as it has been christened by PING) has been made not only in the traditional white colour but also many others so to please both sexes on the market. It has also been especially designed for trolley users all over the world.

The weight of 7 and a half pounds is perfect for lifting on and off trolleys and the six spacious pockets have all been designed for when on a trolley again to make it easier for us golfers.

The Outlander will be in all good UK stores at a retail price of around £99 with the traditional white/black combination of colour likely to be the most popular again.

Has golf tee supplier PrideSport brought to the game the next generation of Golf tees?

For many years PrideSport have been developing revolutionary golf tees but the new PTS Offset series is said to increase your distance and accuracy off the tee and all this from just using a different tee, is this possible?

With the innovative 30 degree angle provided by the tee it is said to give an “attack angle” that will reduce spin and maximise distance from your tee shot.

The PTS offset tee also comes with the now custom PTS colour code system with a yellow bar on the tee indicating a 2 3/4 inch tee and a blue locator bar for the larger 3 1/4 inch tee.

Not only does this colour scheme help to identify the tee but it is also used for consistency when placing the tee in the groud. By using the colour bar you can ensure the ball is the correct distance off the ground for every tee shot you play.