FedEx has launched a new campaign aligned with its sponsorship of the PGA Tour FedExCup. The global shipping service and the PGA have partnered since 2007.
The campaign promotes FedEx as the optimal shipper of golf clubs, thus enabling the best of all possible golf experiences.
Tag: “We Understand. Nothing’s More Important Than Your Clubs.”
The message is, next time you travel, use FedEx to ship your clubs to your hotel, or even to the course you’re playing.
Who picks equipment over instruction? Legendary golf instructor Hank Haney recently revealed to Golf Digest that he would pick equipment. Haney who opened up his first golf instruction center in 1991 has been honored with numerous awards throughout his career. He is best known for his years spent as coach to Tiger Woods and over 200 touring professional from the PGA, LPGA, Champions, European, Japanese, Australian and Asian Tours. Or you might recognize him from his popular television series “The Haney Project” on The Golf Channel.
An interesting comment from a man who made it his life’s work to help people learn to play golf. However in the article he commented “You’re still playing a game where you’re standing to the side of the ball and the ball’s sitting on the ground and you turn your body and you swing your hands and arms.” There are more knowledgeable golf instructors around the world today and with the help of technology they can even help remotely. Nevertheless, the fundamentals have not changed.
Where the true breakthroughs have been in equipment technology. The better the equipment gets the easier it is to break through golf’s harsh learning curve. Take into account how much golf drivers have changed in the last 10 years. Everything has been tailored and improved. For example the TaylorMade R11 may make headlines because of its non-glare white finish but where it really shines is its adjustability. An adjustable sole adjusts the face angle of the club and it also offers you the ability to adjust the launch angle. Callaway created a new material for their latest driver. In a partnership with Lamborghini they created a material called forged composite, which is lighter and stronger than the traditional titanium used on golf clubheads.
A recent deal with TaylorMade is perhaps the reason behind this sudden statement. He will now be teaching with only TaylorMade equipment and wearing their logos on the course. Both Haney and TaylorMade are leaders in innovation for their industry, which will hopefully lead to a good partnership.
Titleist is quite proud of their Brand Ambassador Steve Stricker, who won last weekend at The Memorial Tournament. In the email blast the company sent it was a link to view his hole-in-one at Muirfield Village’s par-3 8th hole (his 17th hole of the day) during Round 2. It was named the No. 1 Top Play on “SportsCenter” on Friday. It was the Steve’s second-career PGA Tour ace.
The video, embedded below includes commentary from Jack Nicklaus. You can also watch Stricker fix his ball mark if you hang with it past the 2 minute mark. After the round, Steve signed the Pro V1x and gave it to his scorer for the round. Note: He had also birdied his final hole with the ball.
Anyone who has spent time playing video games knows that a huge part is knowing how you are doing against others. Thanks to Internet-enabled console, the others could be anywhere on the Web. A company from Finland has taken that head-to-head scoring concept and applied it to the world of golf — REAL golf (like on a course with grass and divots and bumpy greens).
Their flagship product, also named GameBook, is a real-time scoring system and ground breaking social technology platform for golf, intended to make golf more social, fun and enjoyable for all. The GameBook product family includes the GameBook iPhone App, available from the Apple iTunes App Store.
The iPhone application includes an intuitive real-time score card, built-in traditional and fun game formats and well as statistics.
The GameBook Clubhouse is a free online community for golfers that takes the social and sharing aspects of the iPhone application to the next level. At the Clubhouse, you can follow and comment on your friends’ games real-time from wherever you are, share photographs from the course as you play, store your scores, and compare your golf statistics with those of your friends.
Seems like the only thing missing is trash talking…
To demo/promote how it works GameBook teamed up with Audi Finland to launch of Audi Super Saturdays. The inaugural event was held 4 June. According to the company’s press release, “it was the first time ever in the world of golf” that players (open to anyone) could compete against each other nationwide on any golf course. Audi is kicking down prizes too and not just for good results. For example, there is a prize for the “most number of bogies.” The intent is to make everyone’s Saturday game more enjoyable. To participate, a player must log-on and record their Saturday score on the GameBook iPhone application or register at the GameBook Clubhouse and enter the score manually in the player’s Clubhouse profile.
The concept is innovative. It will be interesting to see how the pilot run in Finland goes. This could be coming to golf courses near you in the not so distant future.
Have you ever found yourself off the fairway in just enough rough to truly muck with the clubhead? I’m not talking about literal muck. I’m talking about the stuff that seems to grab the club and keep its face open as you address the ball. It is bad enough to be off the fairway to begin with. But having your subsequent shot move further to the right is downright cruel — especially if that right puts you into someone else’s fairway.
That is why I am here today singing the praises of Cobra for their Baffler Rail fairway and hybrid clubs. I added a 3 Fairway and a 4 Hybrid to my bag for the last two rounds I played and was truly amazed at the difference. I’m usually skeptical of the marketing speak of golf equipment manufacturers. But this time, I have to admit, the club worked as promoted:
Cobra’s Baffler Rail Fairway features a sleek-looking, 17-4 steel clubhead that has a thin, high-strength 465 maraging steel clubface designed to increase ball speed and distance. The elongated clubface and low-profile head result in a low, deep center of gravity – to help golfers launch the ball with ease – and a high Moment of Inertia for maximum forgiveness. The new four-way rail sole is designed to help the club move effortlessly through turf – to provide more consistent ball contact and improved control. The Baffler Rail Fairway features a premium, high-performance Fujikura Motore shaft for optimum distance and control.
“Golfers struggle with hitting traditional fairway woods, so we made the Baffler Fairway more like the Baffler Hybrid in terms of versatility and forgiveness, which makes hitting fairway woods a lot more fun.”
The key words to pay attention to here are “maximum forgiveness” and “a lot more fun.” I wholeheartedly agree. The ball just sprung off the clubface and went where I intended. Plus I got a nice lift. Very cool!
Innovative Rail Sole: A four-way rail sole reduces the area of the club that comes in contact with the ground, resulting in improved turf interaction and maximum forgiveness.
9 Point Face Technology: Incorporated across the clubface, these create an expanded Sweet Zone that promotes more consistent distance and forgiveness.
High-Strength Face Insert (Utility): A thin, lightweight maraging steel face allows for 10% of the weight to be strategically repositioned low and back, resulting in faster ball speed and improved launch characteristics.
Along with the above, the Baffler Rail fairway woods feature a unique oversize head design and a very shallow face result in an extremely forgiving fairway wood that launches the ball with ease.
For women, these clubs (roughly $169 for fairway wood and $149 for the hybrid) are well worth the investment. Guys should give them a test drive too. Take advantage of the playability guarantee a lot of retailers offer and get them out on the course. See (and feel) for yourself. To me, the Rail technology is a true game changer.
Here’s a video clip shot during the recent Golf Expo at Haggin Oaks where Charlie Hazzard of Cobra Puma explains the rails.
Callaway Golf just kicked off a social media contest with golfer and entertainer (and Callaway Golf staff pro since 2008) Justin Timberlake. The effort centers on a contest, “Tee Off with Diablo Octane and Justin Timberlake,” which ties into Father’s Day. Two lucky golfers a once-in-a-lifetime golf experience –they will be treated to a round at Mirimichi, Timberlake’s world class golf course in Millington, Tenn. where they will meet and hit golf balls with Justin Timberlake. They will also enjoy a custom fitting experience for a full set of premium Callaway clubs and play 18 holes on Mirimichi’s Championship Course.
The contest launched last week ton Callaway’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/Callaway), where participants can also win one of 25 Callaway Diablo Octane Drivers, the powerful new club that is Timberlake’s current driver of choice.
Timberlake & the Father’s Day Connection: Timberlake was first introduced to the game by his dad, Paul Harless, on the Mirimichi course that they now own together. Over the years, playing together and enjoying time on the golf course has strengthened the bond between them. Callaway’s contest encourages fans to share an emotional and entertaining story that describes how the game of golf has brought them closer to someone in their life.
To enter the contest, fans need to enter a written submission on Callaway’s Facebook page of up to 100 words by June 19, 2011, the contest’s closing date. In July, Callaway will announce 25 finalists and the grand prize winner will then be chosen by popular vote on Facebook. All 25 finalists will be awarded a new Callaway Diablo Octane Driver, the first club made with a groundbreaking ultra lightweight material called Forged Composite™ that Callaway co-developed with Automobili Lamborghini.
Over the weekend, Cleveland® Golf/Srixon’s rookie staffer Keegan Bradley won the 2011 HP Byron Nelson Championship. Bradley, a PGA TOUR rookie and nephew of LPGA legend Pat Bradley, got his first professional win nine just days before his 25th birthday. The week before, David Toms took first in the Crown Plaza Invitational — winning on the PGA TOUR for the first time since 2006. To Todd Harman, president of Cleveland Golf/Srixon® -U.S.A, these victories are excellent endorsements of the company’s lightweight products.
“When two distinctly different types of players leverage our Right-Weight Fitting Technology to earn back-to-back victories, we know we’re onto something special,” he said.
The timing is perfect too as Cleveland Golf/Srixon has just announced significant investments toward bolstering their club fitting initiatives for 2011. Chuck Thiry, brand manager for Cleveland Golf, said “Our 2011 products push the limits for weight reduction and distance. We have invested heavily in our fitting resources to prove to our customers that Cleveland Golf can improve their game and lower their scores. We guarantee it.”
Number one on their “New for 2011” list is the Right Weight Guarantee. This year’s Ultralite drivers come in three different weights so every player can find his right weight driver – regardless of swing type or performance preference. The Right Weight Guarantee offers consumers a 60-day guarantee on all driver sales enabling golfers to exchange their driver free of charge for another weight, flex or loft.
Other initiatives include:
A massive capital investment in the most sophisticated and portable launch monitors in the market.
The most comprehensive custom shaft offering ever, featuring the latest custom graphite and steel shafts from golf’s most trusted shaft brands.
Expanding their fleet of fitting vans traveling nationally. Each van is driven by an expert fitting professional with tools to guarantee the best fit for golfers of all levels. The Cleveland Golf/Srixon fitting fleet is powered by Trackman and GC2 launch monitors, ACTIONFIT Lie Boards and SCUBA club bending technology.
Introduction of the SCUBA (Self-Contained Universal Bending Apparatus) to go along with its tour inspired GAP fitting philosophy. With the SCUBA, irons and wedges can be adjusted to the loft and lie angles at the range while fitting a player. As a result, the player can walk away from a fitting session with a completely customized set of clubs (perfect lie angles and distance gaps) delivered the same day.
You can find the complete list of initiatives here.
There’s a new book out that is a comprehensive history and analysis of golf’s equipment regulations and their effects on the game. Written by Frank Thomas with Valerie Melvin, From Sticks and Stones ($24.95) dissects all the equipment-related provisions in the Rules of Golf, and explains why they were written, what they were meant to achieve and evaluates their relevance today.
As the Technical Director of the United States Golf Association for more than 25 years before resigning in 2000, Thomas conducted or oversaw the testing of every technological advancement in golf balls, clubheads, shafts, grips and accessories during the most active and turbulent time in the history of golf. He definitely has his finger on the pulse of this subject.
Thomas and Melvin give the reader an inside look at how golf’s governing bodies – the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and the U.S.G.A. – have dealt with equipment innovation and the Rules of Golf from the first mention of “Form and Make of Golf Clubs” in 1908 to the ultra-sophisticated calibrations of today.
“The object of this book,” writes Thomas, “is to provide a written document of how, why and when equipment had been regulated and to consider the effect of these regulations.”
There’s a new game in town or rather, on the Golf Channel. It is called PowerPlay Golf which has just 9 holes per round. The breakout is that there are two flags on every green: a White Flag and a Black (‘PowerPlay’) Flag. There is a risk-reward decision to be made on each hole, as golfers have to decide on whether to go for the regulation hole placement, designated by a White Flag, or try to score extra points by playing to the more difficult placement, or Black Flag. Each player is required to designate three PowerPlays for the first eight holes. The ninth hole provides the chance to score bonus points, but also to lose more points than on previous holes.
For its television debut, the Golf Channel will be showing a star-studded tournament which features an international field playing The Twenty Ten Course at The Celtic Manor Resort (site of the 2010 Ryder Cup and the Saab Wales Open European Tour event). Start-to-finish coverage will take place on Monday, 30 May.
Hall of Famer Gary Player heads the field, which also includes reigning men’s and women’s U.S. Open champions Graeme McDowell and Paula Creamer, plus Englishmen Ian Poulter and Paul Casey.
Here’s a video that explains the concept:
Launched this year, PowerPlay Golf creates an exciting new strategic spin on scoring, adding drama and a new look for golf on TV. Two other similar PowerPlay Golf events are scheduled for later in the year, one in Singapore in early November and the other in late November in the U.S. at a site to be determined.
This week, Trion:Z, manufacturer of award winning magnetic and negative ion technology, announced they have developed a promotion specifically for the 111th US Open being held at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD.
Trion:Z professional staff members Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy both will be teeing it up on the Blue Course as they participate in the 2011 US Open. To create excitement around the prestigious event and to introduce golfers to the Active™ Series, Trion:Z will be giving out 1,000 Red, White, or Blue Active wristbands if either of their team professionals win.
To participate in the Trion:Z US Open promotion and win a Trion:Z Active wristband, visit the company website at www.trionz.com and click on the enter button which will take you directly to the voting page of the website. Simply fill out your name, email address and choose either Rickie Fowler or Rory McIlroy to win the US Open.
No purchase is necessary. The entry dates are from May 16th through June 17th, 2011. One entry per person. Winners are randomly chosen and will notified by email within seven days of the tournament’s completion.
Who picks equipment over instruction? Legendary golf instructor 
That is why I am here today singing the praises of Cobra for their 
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