I’ve never had the chance to try any of Nike’s clubs (although the new Slingshots are tempting), but I can honestly say that their golf apparel is first rate. I especially have liked Nike’s colder weather gear. The sleeves are always roomy enough for a good swing; they’re warm, and breathable.

On really cool days, I like to combine their Nike Dri Fit UV Long Sleeve Mock with the Therma-Fit Half Zip Pullover shown above.

The Toronto Star’s columnist has a particularly good writeup on the last day of the President’s Cup.

By now, even the most casual reader of the sports pages has heard that the United States won the President’s Cup over the weekend. It was an exciting exhibition of golf that was everything that last year’s Ryder Cup was not. What I appreciated most was that in every match, the players looked as though they truly cared about the outcome.

The best example of this, of course, was Chris Dimarco, a fierce competitior who won 4 and a half points for the American side. It was only fitting that his 12 foot putt on the 18th was the shot that earned the victory for the American team.

And although they lost, the European International team still can hold their heads high. They gave the American team a terrific fight and had a chance to win down to the very end.

The weekend also was notable for the team spirit that the Americans showed. Tiger, I think, worked particularly hard to dispel the notion that he is not a team player. In shot after shot, the tv coverage showed Tiger and Jim Furyk discussing shots and helping each other line up putts—just as a team should do. And Tiger was the second one after Jack Nicklaus to rush out and embrace DiMarco after his game winning ball dropped.

And it bodes well for next year’s Ryder Cup that many of these players seem to have found good partners. The Mickelson-DiMarco pairing was deadly.

Fred Couples redeemed himself in winning his singles match against world number two Vijay Singh. Couples had said in an interview afterwards that he wanted to prove that Nicklaus had not made a mistake in choosing him with a Captain’s pick. Given that kind of internal pressure, I think it’s remarkable that he was able to battle to his victory.

But then, if he needed any extra incentive, opponent Vijay Sinh provided it. Before teeing off, Vijay remarked that they should have a cart ready to bring Fred back after 12 holes.

Now, Couples says that going to play a lot this next year in an attempt to make the Ryder Cup on his own merits. Perhaps this tournament will signal a renaissance for Couples before he looks forward to the Champions Tour in just five years.

Finally, no analysis of the last day would be complete without mentioning the look on Lefty’s face when he discovered that his match with Angel Cabrerra had been extended. Had just begun shaking hands after tying it all up when an official informed him that he had to go back to the first tee. That look was priceless.

The Kabul Open was played on Sunday for the first time since the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

No word on who won.

With all the excitement over the President’s Cup this last weekend, one story may have escaped your notice: David Duvall made the cut in this last weekend’s Texas Open. He put together rounds of 69, 68, 70 and 74 for a one over par 281. That was good enough to tie for 60th.

It would be good to see him return to his former form.

George Archer, who won the 1969 Masters and 11 other PGA titles, died Sunday.

Dr. Gio Viliante, the shrink who helped Davis Love and Justin Leonard overcome their mental barriers now offers his advice to the average golfer in Fearless Golf : Conquering the Mental Game

If you’ve ben playing golf for a while, your swing probably is not going to get any better. But your mental game can. Bad mental habits can wreck your round, alter your swing, and turn a tap in to a three putt disaster.

In this book, Viliante offers concrete advice on improving your mental game.