So what do you do if you have a clever idea or catchy product, and some behemoth corporation comes along and blatantly rips it off? If you’re BogeyPro, the irreverant Minnesota-based golf gear company for the rest of us, you fight. BogeyPro co-founder Arik Nordby recently told me how a friend of his was paging through one of the big slick golf magazines, and noticed that the ad for ESPN Golf Schools was using an illustration that was nearly identical to one of BogeyPro’s most popular shirts, one that illustrates how best to throw your golf bag. “I contacted their advertising agency and ... full post »

I have a rather uncomfortable admission to make: I’m not terribly enamored of new technology. At least, I’m not as much as I feel I should be, especially given that I am equipment editor for GolfInstruction.com. Let me explain. For every technological advance, there are people who get crushed (or at least bruised) under the wheels of progress. Just think of all the young trophy wives who were perfectly content married to floppy 70-year-olds before Viagra hit the market. All of the sudden, these poor things had to start earning their future inheritances. I’m guessing many of these ladies ... full post »

The acrid stench of defeat hangs heavy over the campus of the University of Illinois today, as does the stink of fresh liquid fertilizer spread on the corn fields surrounding the Urbana-Champaign campus. What can we do but tip our hats to UNC? They played a heck of a game. Of course our pathetic shooting during the first half didn’t hurt the UNC cause, either. And when I say “our” I’m including myself. While Head, Williams, and Brown were shooting less than 28% from the field, I was 0 for 6 unloading my snubnose .38 at my television. Good thing I ... full post »

Chris Baldwin’s comments on my stance against paying college athletes was pretty typical of “journalism” these days: ad hominem attacks, inflammatory rhetoric, and a distinct lack of analysis or detail. These are the things that excite readers and sell advertising. I understand this completely. So, let’s agree that Baldwin is in principle right: College athletes should get paid for playing, above and beyond the $200,000+ they receive in tuition, room, board, books, travel, access to a national stage on which to display their skills, and the chance to play a sport that they presumably love for four years. The question then ... full post »