Worst customer service: Chiliwear. I saw a shirt there that I liked and asked the Chiliwear rep if he had one in a medium. “Probably,” he growled. “But, I’m not going to waste my afternoon looking for it.” Oh. I see. Thanks for your help.” Runnerup: Massage Insole. These ladies were more aggressive than Tiger Woods on the back nine at Augusta on Sunday. Best customer service: Ireland Best driver: MacGregor MacTec NVG2 Best irons: Wilson Best hybrids: Adams Best putter: Heavy Putter Best too-soon-to-tell gimmick – Advisor’s GPS in a hat full post »

“Dimples are cute on women and kids, but not on golf balls.” – Che Guavara Every once in a while, somebody in golf comes up with an idea so brilliant, so revolutionary, it changes the face of the game forever, and makes you wonder why nobody had thought of it before. All this time, the technocrats – in a futile and impossible effort to make bad golfers into good golfers – have been concentrating on the clubs. They also concentrated on the golf ball itself, but it turns out they were going about it in all the wrong ways. They poked and prodded ... full post »

When the USGA and Royal and Ancient Golf Club basically legalized distance-measuring devices last year, you could hear the gears grinding – or more accurately, the lasers buzzing, or whatever they do. Their ruling, which allowed local rules allowing rangefinders in competition, resulted in a huge boom, which is reflected here at the PGA Show in Orlando. Bushnell reported sales figures were up 344 percent through the third quarter of 2006. Through the roof. Rangefinder and GPS booths are all over the show, like mushrooms. Bushnell has a huge exhibit, as does Laser Link, To the Green, Pro Link Solutions, Sky Caddie, GPS ... full post »

Study after study shows that women are one of the fastest growing newcomers to golf, but you’d never know it here at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. I saw exactly three women hitting clubs at the demo day, which drew an estimated 6,000 people. Most of the women I’ve seen here are wearing short skirts and high heels, paid primpers for the exhibitors. I like to look at them. Women should be more excited about the new equipment out today, and manufacturers should be doing more to get them pumped. The new hybrids help everybody’s game, and all those wedges with ... full post »

By my count - and I stopped counting after a while - golf teaching guru David Leadbetter has endorsed at least nine golf products ranging from training aids to wireless instructional systems. What, this guy doesn’t make enough money from his lessons - $5,000 a day will get you four hours with him. He also has a line of clothing and those 26 Leadbetter Golf Academies staffed by nearly 60 “certified” Leadbetter instructors. Among his corporate sponsors are Cadillac and Rolex. Here’s a list of Leadbetter endorsements: Swing Setter Swing trainer K-Vest, a three-sensor wireless instructional system Eurosocks – Callaway Golf Ecco shoes Lazerguide Personal Golf Swing Trainer Swinglink ... full post »

Stink-A-Way is a super absorbent shoe pod. I need say nothing more. Bad Golf Pants, from Loud Mouth Golf. Golfers dress badly enough as it is. Don’t encourage them. “Divot,” the world’s greatest golf clown. I thought that was Charles Barkley. The Massage insole that’s supposed to prevent all sorts of pain to your lower extremeties. This one is on the list because of the overly aggressive salespeople at their booth. “Hey, what shoe size do you wear!” the woman yelled at me. When I meekly submitted and tried one on, she said: “You have to have it. It’s not an option.” Well, yes ... full post »

The PGA Show has a little corner with booths manned by those little companies you sometimes read about in the back pages of golf magazines. They always seem to have some patent pending gizmo. Some promise amazing results, others are more practical. Some actually have good ideas. Here are a few of the winners I’ve found. The Backsaver golf grip can save you from having to bend over and pick up embarrassing missed putts. You can also use it to suck up “gimmes” before you are officially awarded one. Being from Florida, I’ve noticed some old-timers using different versions of these, and ... full post »

For the past couple years, I’ve been on a personal quest to bring back the Ban-Lon, and wandering around the apparel section of the 2007 PGA Show has only made me more committed. Golf apparel is as boring as Vijay Singh. But, put Vijay Singh in a Ban-Lon, what do you have? Sean Connery. I went to at least 15 apparel booths and asked to see their Ban-Lons. I do stuff like this. I got a variety of negative responses, some blank stares from the younger ones and a few nostalgic chuckles from the old-timers. The Ban-Lon is the perfect golf shirt, if ... full post »

Best gizmo so far at the PGA Merchandise Show: a hat full of GPS The 2007 PGA Show is full of worthless stuff, old and new, and most of it is expensive. Here’s a little invention I think could catch on. GPS in a hat. You ask your hat a question – how far is it to that bunker on the left? – and your hat says, “187 yards.” It’s called Advisor, a “hands-free, voice-activated microcomputer GPS system,” that is fully contained in the brim of a normal golf cap. It was invented by Gail Garratt of Naples, FL., with help from her ... full post »

Sex sells, even in golf, with its conservative, button-down image. Especially in golf, with its conservative, button-down image. There are some buttons popping at the 2007 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, on blouses and elsewhere. A quick review of the show floor revealed the following strong, contenders for best and most blatant displays of commercial sexism. Pocket BC, which sells a pocket ball cleaner, has two young women roaming around the floor of the mammoth exhibition hall. Short, black skirts, t-shirts, one blonde, one dirty blonde. Not bad. SKB has two scantily-clad women in mini-skirts and halter tops. One blonde, one brunette. ... full post »

Being a travel writer and golfer, I’m always on the lookout for a good travel bag. There are a lot of good ones out there. One that I find at the 2007 PGA Merchandise Show is the Cargo Golf Hybrid. One of the things I’ve always disliked about big, bulky travel bags – although they’re the best at protection – is what the hell to do with them after you’ve arrived. They’re clumsy and awkward, taking up all your trunk space or hotel room. The Hybrid has an expandable backbone that you can custom fit to your clubs. When you’re through with ... full post »

The 2007 PGA Merchandise Show has dozens of putting booths, and I found two good ones, both designed to eliminate the hands and get you to use your shoulders. The P3 Perfect Pendulum is basically a training aid. It’s a two-handled gizmo, with the two handles about half a foot apart from both sides of the putter shaft. You can use it with your own putter, or with no putter. By holding the two handles that are so far apart, it forces you to use your shoulders in the putting arc. It costs about $30. The Heavy Putter is hilarious, but it just ... full post »

Demo Day at a PGA Merchandise Show is like a wet dream for anyone who likes to try out different clubs. Every major manufacturer and many of the wacky ones are here in Orlando, BEGGING you to try theirs. The entire practice range was surrounded by pretty much every new club, sporting every new technology, in the golf universe. I never thought I would get tired hitting on the range. I did Wednesday at the 2007 PGA Show. I hit a ton of drivers, and liked the MacGregor MacTec NVG2 the best. It has “cup face 360” technology, with no face welds. The ... full post »

Ever thought about getting a job in the golf industry? Like say, a head pro or director of golf? Why not? Hang out on the course, play golf every day, have a ball. Only, it ain’t like that. The golf pros I talk to never have enough time to play. For kicks, here’s a job application from the city of Ocala, FL. Ocala is looking for a director of golf for its two courses. You’ll see what I mean. full post »

All the golf course closures in Myrtle Beach in recent times - 20 in the last seven years - have caused economic ripples through the Grand Strand golf scene. Rounds are down overall, but because there are fewer courses, rounds are up at individual courses. What does this do? It raises green fees at the surviving courses. Sad to say, but that’s an inevitable result of golf economics 101. Green fees have increased “as little as a couple of dollars at some courses and $15 or more at others including Panther’s Run, Lion’s Paw and Brunswick Plantation,” according to Myrtle Beach Online. ... full post »

There have been so many changes to the airlines flying in and out of Myrtle Beach in the last few months – all of which we have reported – we here at TravelGolf believe we are doing you a service by summing up all the new flights in a tight, little info package. US Airways adds new, daily non-stop service to and from Myrtle Beach from LaGuardia in New York, starting march 4. Contact usairways.com. Southern Skyways introduces new service from Allentown, PA., Charleston and Cincinnati, Mondays and Fridays. Contact SouthernSkyways.com. Myrtle Beach Direct rolls out new service from Newark, N.J., Pittsburgh, PA., ... full post »

Have you ever been to a carnival and seen the guy who sticks pins in his flesh, without apparent pain? There are people all over the world who are apparently impervious to all sorts of things. Michelle Wie, who once again missed a cut at a PGA Tour tournament, is apparently immune to embarrassment and humiliation. Wie shot a 78 at the Sony Open Friday and missed the cut by 14 strokes. She hit only one fairway on Thursday. She had 14 bogeys to show for the Sony, two doubles and only four birdies. “I have a lot of game, it’s ... full post »

You say you’ve always wanted to play historic Pine Lakes International Country Club, the granddaddy of golf in Myrtle Beach, but never got around to it? Well, it’s too late, at least in its original layout. The course has closed for a dramatic renovation and won’t open til the Fall of 2008. Despite significant opposition from locals, owners Burroughs & Chapin has gone ahead with its plan for redeveloping the area. The course will change dramatically, with new routing and additional holes being added. Plans call for 200 new home sites and a “limited number of townhomes” according to course officials. I’m assuming the ... full post »

The airline circus continues at Myrtle Beach, which has lost and found several airlines in recent months. The latest is U.S. Airways announcing it will add direct, daily flights from LaGuardia. Bookings are available now. Flights are available on U.S. Airways Express Carrier Chautauqua Airlines 50-seat jets, leaving every morning at 9:31 for the two-hour flight. return flights are at 12:10 p.m. The flights are intended to serve golfers as well as summer vacationers and students on spring break. U.S. Air also announced additional flights from Charlotte, N.C. to Augusta, GA. between March 30 and April 9. full post »

If you’re going to Miami for the Super Bowl and want to play the best golf course around, the Blue Monster at Doral is the way to go. The Blue Monster has been recently refurbished and in great shape. It doesn’t look like that difficult at first glance, but once you start making your way around the course, you’ll start to notice the nearly three-inch thick Bermuda rough, the landing areas squeezed by hazards, and of course the wind that comes sweeping in off the Atlantic. Better book now. And there’s only ONE way to get on: http://www.worldgolf.com/newswire/browse/7759-TeeBone-Golf-offers-Super-Bowl-deal-at-Doral-Golf-Resort–Miami full post »

Now I’ve heard it all. A Myrtle Beach corporation is suing another for one of the most trite, overused and pretentious adjectives in all of golf: Grande. Note the silent “e” at the end of the word. More than one golf writer has called for the end of “Grande…Anything,” and here is Burroughs and Chapin Co. Inc. suing Signature Associates Inc. for using the stupid word in the latter’s plans to call a new condo development Grande Villas at the International Tour Golf links, according to Myrtle Beach Online. B&C owns trademarks for eight names with the word “grande,” including Grande Dunes, and ... full post »

Eastport Golf Club is the latest course to close down in Myrtle Beach. The course shut its doors Friday and officials said plans call for the course to be redeveloped with condos. Eastport was not one of the top-tier Myrtle Beach courses, but it was a favorite of the locals because of its relatively cheap green fees. It was a Dennis Griffiths design, bordered on the east by the Intracoastal Waterway, known for its narrow fairways and large, bentgrass greens. Eastport is just the latest Myrtle Beach closure, joining 14 others in the past two years. The lull in golf industry profits have ... full post »

Quick first impression of the first, historic, female anchor in a PGA Tour broadcast booth: Not bad. Not bad at all. If Kelly Tilghman was nervous about making history, she didn’t show it during The Golf Channel’s own historic opening shot with the PGA Tour, in opening round coverage of the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii. She was smooth and blended seamlessly with analyst Nick Faldo and even guest analyst Rocco Mediate. She set up Faldo well, and appears to have a fairly wry sense of humor herself, which is definitely called for in golf. “There are a variety of responsibilities for me, first and ... full post »

Ocean Ridge loves its cats and it’s set to open another one to the public on January 15, called Leopard’s Chase. It’s a 7,200-yard, par-71 layout designed by Tim Cate, who also designed the acclaimed Tiger’s Eye at the plantation, as well as Panther’s Run, his first solo project. The new course will feature large lakes, mounding and elevation changes. There are no parallel fairways and it has an island green on the par-3 fourth hole. Ocean Ridge is a golf community in Sunset Beach, N.C. Another course, Jaguar’s Lair, is scheduled for 2008. full post »

To all those who thought Myrtle Beach embodied low-end, discount lodging, take heart: a new luxury resort has just opened. It doesn’t have golf, but the new Island Vista recently celebrated its grand opening in the heart of Myrtle Beach, in the so-called “Golden Mile.” That’s convenient to most Myrtle Beach-area golf courses. It has 149 oceanfront suites, a restaurant and outdoor pool complex “reminiscent of the Roman Aqueducts,” according to the company. It’s built on the location of the old Sea Island Inn, a Myrtle Beach landmark for a quarter century. The suites have private balconies with ocean views, granite countertops, floor-to-ceiling windows ... full post »

Any golfer who has thoroughly explored Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand knows the area is sort of like Old Dixie in microcosm. The South Strand is much more laid back than the Central. And both are very different from the North. To that end, 12 courses in the South have joined together and formed a separate trail. Secession! “While we are just 20 miles south of Myrtle Beach, the Waccamaw Trail offers a different golf trip than you enjoy in Myrtle Beach or North Myrtle Beach,” Myrtle Beach National VP of golf operations Jim Woodring said in a press release. Very true. The ... full post »

Airlines continue to be schizoid when it comes to Myrtle Beach. The come in, they drop out, they return, they fold, they give up, they try again. The latest is Air Tran Airways’ decision to not return in the spring for its cheap Atlanta-to-Myrtle Beach route. The airline, which ended in seasonal service in November, said it didn’t have enough higher-paying customers, or business-class travelers to justify the return. Look, when you’re a low-cost carrier, what do you expect? Of course it hurts Myrtle Beach tourism. Atlanta is a huge hub: you know the old saying – When I die and go ... full post »