Movable weight technology is all the rage in equipment today. This trend is huge in drivers, obviously, but even extends to putters. In case you’ve been living in a cave or in the desolate confines of Lanny Wadkins’s vocabulary, the point behind movable weights is to alleviate slices and hooks via the weighting scheme. A heavier heel than toe will promote a closed face at impact, biasing ball flight toward a draw (or at least less of a slice). A heavier toe than heel will bias toward a fade. And again, for you cave/Lanny’s head-dwellers (how did you get Internet access, anyway?), ... full post »

While writing about The American Club in Kohler, Wis. and the courses at Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run, I was struck not only by the amazing variety and imagination of the Pete Dye courses and the sumptuousness of the resort, but also by the history of the place. In fact, the history made a larger impact on me than anything else. Here’s an excerpt from my 2002 article that provides a thumbnail summary of what I’m talking about: “Walter J. Kohler, grandson of the founder of Kohler Company and 27th Governor of Wisconsin, had a vision of a place where the ... full post »

Although they weren’t marketed as “escape clubs” or “hybrids,” it could be argued that the Adams Tight Lies fairway wood was one of the first modern hybrids. Introduced in 1996-7, the shallow face and “upside down head” was billed at the perfect club for, well, tight lies, as well as from the rough, from fairway bunkers, from pine straw, and from the cedar planks of the clubhouse deck (I’ve played from there, I know). At the time, company founder Barney Adams was one of the few club designers to put the bulk of his engineering focus on game-improvement clubs for mediocre ... full post »

It’s hard for me to get into a practice schedule. I try to grab a few usually rushed minutes here and there. And I can pretty much forget about scheduling regular lessons with a local pro. Who has the time? Then when a few blessed practice minutes do arise, I find myself doing the same things over and over again – too much time fighting with my full swing, precious little time spent on putting or short game. Who can remember what you need to work on from round to round, week to week, month to month? A new interactive online instructional ... full post »

It seems like just yesterday when several club manufacturers decided they wanted to enter the golf ball market. Nike, Callaway and TaylorMade all introduced balls, with quite different results. Though none challegened the practical hegemony of Titleist, Nike has created a competitive line of balls, essentially parallel in price and performance to Titleist’s. The Swoosh and Tiger don’t hurt any, either. Callaway’s balls are also starting to grab market share, thanks in no small part to the success of Phil Mickelson and Annika Sorenstam. The bulk of Callaway’s balls, though, appear to be aimed at the higher-end market (with the exception ... full post »

In the past, I’ve raised some issues about laser range finders being used in official rounds. Personally, I have no problem with the high-tech devices, but I was concerned that perhaps they wouldn’t speed play as much as promised. Well, based on initial reports, it seems that they really do. A recent article by Jeff Mezydlo in The News-Gazette about slow play in the Champaing-Urbana area of Illinois quoted Jerry Williams, head pro at Tuscola’s Ironhorse Golf Course. Ironhorse rents Laser Link Quickshot range finders to golfers for a small fee. With these, players can nail down precise yardages to the small ... full post »

Last summer, my six-year-old daughter became interested in golf. Or I should say more interested. For several years, we have enjoyed going to the practice putting green together. This time, though, she expressed interest in taking a full swing at the ball. So I bought her a putter, 8/9-iron, 5/6-iron, driver and matching bag, all by La Jolla Golf. Then we hit the putting green, range, and par-3 course. Let’s just say we experienced modest success. Generally after two holes, she was pretty much exhausted from walking the 100-yard holes (even with me carrying her bag) and frustrated from taking ... full post »

You can’t stop the rain. And you can’t help but give shots back around Amen Corner. And maybe you can’t even stop dopey phtographers clicking during your backswing. But can someone please stop Lanny Wadkins? Perhaps no other announcer in the history of the game has begged for a headcover to be shoved into his yap more than Wadkins. I haven’t been taking notes, I confess. So I cannot give a full account of all the irritating platitudes, truisms, and hollow chatter this man spews forth. But one series of comments sticks out in my mind. Yesterday at one point, a player ... full post »

As The Masters begins, and golf bloggers from TravelGolf.com to Timbuktu start tippy-tapping their pudgy fingers till they’re black and blue, I thought I’d take the briefest moment to blow my own horn. (I mean, hey, that’s essentially what most bloggers do anyway. They’re just not so candid about it.) In 2004, I was allowed to write the first blog-like article for TravelGolf.com, in which I chronicled Phil Mickelson’s win at the Masters. This was back before the incendiary rants of Chris Baldwin, the laconic wit of Tim McDonald, the sophisticated irony of Ron Mon, or the erudite humor of William ... full post »