Adidas Tour 360 Shoes

Adidas’ trademark three stripe logo comes from the original track shoe design of Adi (Adolph) Dassler, who founded Adidas in 1920. The stripes were a part of the shoe design which helped support the foot and offer stability.

Its not surprising, therefore, that the new Adidas Tour 360 shoes also feature a foot support system called the 360 wrap, which is supposed to promote a stable, tour-caliber hitting platform. The shoe’s high traction split outsole features tapered, kidney shaped lugs that are supposed to avoid clogging while still providing a strong grip on the turf.

Adidas continues the theme by including what it calls a “3D FitFoam” sock liner that has three densities of foam. The polyurethane base layer provides outstanding support from heel to toe. A cushioning layer in the heel absorbs shoes, while memory foam adapts to the contours of the forefoot.

The membership at the legendary Winged Foot has refused to extend an invitation to the US Golf Association for the 2015 US Open Championship. In addition to some interesting internal politics, it appears that the main problem was that the USGA is cheap. They were offering the club less money than they did in 2006, when the club also was forced to take the money losing US Amateur.

If the USGA is as cheap as the accusations, we may see a lot more municipal courses in the rota and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I like the idea of the US Open being played on courses that the average Joe can access. The USGA is supposed to represent all golfers—not just those at exclusive clubs. It can only help the USGA and the game of golf to have more Opens at places like Bethpage and Torrey Pines. I don’t care a lot about Winged Foot; I’ll never play there. I will, however, watch the Open at Torrey Pines this year with intense interest, since I have played that course.

A few things I’m avoiding on this blog on New Years: year end reviews, predictions and resolutions.

Those horses have been beaten to death and turned into glue.

I will say that whatever kind of a year you just finished, I hope the next is even better.

The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever
by Mark Frost

Mark Frost’s The Greatest Game Ever Played, an account of the legendary 1913 US Open, in which amateur Francis Ouimet beat the great Harry Vardon is one of the best golf books ever written. More than an account of a tournament, it uses the event to cast a light on the era’s problems of social class and distinction. In that, it’s not just a great golf book—it’s simply a great book that has been enjoyed by everyone I’ve shared it with, golfers and non-golfers alike.

The Match in some ways picks up on that story. Years after the Open, Ouimet’s former caddy Eddie Lowry heads west, where he becomes a multi-millionaire car dealer, and a golf patron. In particular, Lowry “sponsors” a collection of outstanding amateurs by giving them jobs at his dealerships. The amateurs, including Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward, work at selling cars in the morning and golf in the afternoon. In this, Lowry skirts a fine line between amateur and professional—a ruse which has tragic consequences later.

Lowry also has become friends with Bing Crosby, and it’s at a party for Crosby’s 1956 Clambake (now the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am) that he makes a bet with fellow millionaire George Coleman: that Venturi and Ward can beat anyone in the world. Coleman takes Lowry up on the bet (the size of which still is unknown) and rounds up his own pair of players: none other than Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. A private match is scheduled before a practice round of the Crosby Clambake.

It’s a concept so fabulous—so phantasmagorical—that I had, and still have, a hard time believing it. It’s one of those tales that is so outrageous it could only be true. Think about it: a private match between the teams of Hogan and Nelson, and Venturi and Ward to settle a bet made by Francis Ouimet’s caddy.

Even more amazing is that I don’t ever recall reading about it before. The Golf Blogger is very well read on the history of golf, but this was off the radar screen.

I won’t tell you the outcome of The Match, for that would spoil the suspense in the hole-by-hole account. But in truth, it really doesn’t matter. Win or lose, the Match represented the last gasp of the amateur golfer as a contender on golf’s biggest stages. As the book’s subtitle suggests, the Match was a metaphorical “Day The Game of Golf Changed Forever.” Prior to the era of The Match, there still was some hope that a brilliant amateur would return the game to the realm of Bobby Jones and Francis Ouimet. It was rapidly becoming clear, however, that wouldn’t happen.

The bulk of the book covers the match itself, but Frost also offers brief backgrounds on the principals: Lowry, Hogan, Nelson, Venturi and Ward. The material on the first four offered nothing that I haven’t already read in other biographies of those players (although if you have not read their biographies, this book covers the basics well). I was more intrigued by the fate of Harvie Ward, who suffered through a series of difficulties connected to his involvement with Lowry. The background, however, does not equal that of The Greatest Game. And in that, The Match is a somewhat lesser book—and one that may not appeal as much to non-golfers.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly to golfers, and especially to those for whom the names Nelson and Hogan still carry some magic. Fans of The Greatest Game also may find it interesting as a sort of sequel. But I can’t see it reaching the greater reading audience.

Callaway Hyper X Tour Driver

Callaway Golf’s Hyper X Tour Driver offers a Hyperbolic Face Technology, which the company’s engineers say improves impact efficiency and offers the largest effective hitting area of any Callaway Golf driver. The club’s S2H2 design helps to move weight from the hosel to the perimeter of the clubead, which, combined with an optimized head shape increases the club’s moment of inertia (resistance to twisting). Best of all, they managed to do this without turning it into a weird triangular or rectangular shape; this one looks like a traditional club.

You can get it at Golfsmith

This was just emailed to me. I have no idea whether or not it’s really a Letterman Top Ten list, but it is funny.

David Letterman’s Top Ten Reasons Why Golf Is Better Than Sex :
10.  A below par performance is considered damn good.
9.  You can stop in the middle and have a cheeseburger and a couple of beers.
8.  It’s much easier to find the sweet spot.
7.  Foursomes are encouraged.
6.  You can still make money doing it as a senior.
5.  Three times a day is possible.
4.  Your partner doesn’t hire a lawyer if you play with someone else.
3.  If you live in Florida , you can do it almost everyday.
2.  You don’t have to cuddle with your partner when you’re finished.

And the number one reason why golf is better than sex ..

1.  If your equipment gets old and rusty, you can replace it.

Braun Pulsonic System 9595 with LCD Screen

I got one of the new Braun Pulsonic razors for Christmas and am so impressed with it that I thought I’d pass on my recommendation.

I’ve been an electric razor guy all my life. I’ve never thought that playing with a sharp object near my throat when I’m half awake was a good idea. Over the years, I’ve owned Remingtons, Norelcos and Brauns; the Pulsonic is far and away the best razor I’ve ever owned.

The key to the razor seems to be the “pulsonic technology”, which provides 10,000 “microvibrations” per minute. This is supposed to provide more comfort while exposing and cutting more hair. They’ve also borrowed some gadgetry from Gillette, which is supposed to reduce tugging and pulling. And the new foil is supposed to pick up hairs that are growing in different directions.

All I really know is that it works. The Braun Pulsonic sweeps away the stubble with a single pass, leaving behind naught but smooth face. There’s none of the pinching, tugging and occasional tearing that I’ve occasionally had with other razors. Indeed, the shave is so soft, and so smooth that I don’t need to use the electric shave face prep cream that I have always applied.

I actually enjoy shaving with this thing.

Another great feature of the razor is the charging/cleaning dock. When you’re done with a shave, you put the razor into its holder and an onboard computer assesses the power level and cleanliness of the razor. If it needs cleaning, it instructs you to push a button. This causes the station to flush the razor with a cleaning solution that is held in the base. I clean it every couple of shaves, when the lights indicate that it’s at the mid level. (The head also can be cleaned with water, so you don’t have to take the dock with you when you travel.)

The razor is on the expensive side, but I’m convinced that in the long run, the price is comparable, if not cheaper than shaving with razors.