As revealed in Goldfinger, James Bond’s favorite golf ball is the Penfold Heart. Now, in honor of the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, and the 100th Anniversary of Ian Fleming’s birth, the Penfold company is offering a limited-edition set of these balls.

I want a set.

Blogger. Golf Blogger.

It sounds like a joke, but scientists apparently have discovered that sharks can raise their scales to create tiny vortexes across the surface of their skin, reducing drag as they propel themselves through the water. That’s the same principle that keeps a golf ball in the air—and why a smooth ball doesn’t fly as fast or far as one that has dimples (or hexes, as the case may be).

(Read this for an explanation of why golf balls fly.)

Now I have to admit that I always thought shark skin would be a bit like catfish skin—smooth, not scaly. But apparently, the beasts are covered with micro scales, just 200 micrometers long that are made from enamel, giving them a rough texture. (I’ll take their word on this. Who wants to pet a shark?) And they also can seemingly “bristle” their scales.

In a study published in New Scientist, some University of Alabama scientists created an artificial shark skin with the scales set at a 90 degree angle. This was then put in moving water that was impregnated with silver coated nanospheres. When the water was illuminated with lasers, it showed that tiny vortices were formed in the cavities between the scales. These mini whirlpools formed a buffer later that prevented turbulent wakes from forming.

As with golf balls, eliminating wakes allows the sharks to travel faster and more more easily.

I’m absolutely sure there’s a Greg Norman joke hidden in all of this.

DAVIS & SMALL DECOR Personalized Wooden 19th Hole Sign

My dream house has a huge walk-out basement, with a full bar, a pool table and a big screen television. The testosterone room will of course be golf-themed, and a sign like this one will be hanging behind the bar.

It’d also make a great holiday gift for the golfer in your life.

A 22-year-old golfer has hit five holes in one in a single week.

There are witnesses.

The odds of hitting a hole in one is reported variously as one in 20,000 to one in 33,000. But the odds of hitting five in a week shouldn’t be any higher, since each is an independent event. That he hit a hole in one on Monday doesn’t have any effect on whether he hits one on Tuesday.

Still, it’s pretty amazing.

Astro Turf Golf Beret

Ridiculous Golf Item of The Week