Here’s a video of a pneumatic golf ball shooter at work. The inventor claims that it can shoot 400 yards, and after seeing it punch holes in plywood, I believe it. You can find building instructions here.

Golf Laptop Skin

Ridiculous Golf Item of The Week

Cleveland Golf has developed a new golf bag that actually counts the number of clubs in your bag and lets you know if you’ve left one on the green. The electronic sensors will give off a chirp and an LED light. Just turn it on

It’s not a bad idea, given the number of wedges I find lying around the greens on the course. I don’t personally leave any behind

I’m a little concerned about the “chirp” part, though. Given the number of people with hearing loss (that’d be most baby boomers and retirees), it seems to me that a chirp is probably not the best choice. People (like me) with hearing loss typically lose the upper frequencies first. I, for example, can’t hear the microwave’s beep, or the oven’s timer beep, or phone rings—or even the stupidly designed screech of the fire alarms at work (I’m told that they screech).

Cleveland would be better served if the reminder noise was a low beep.

I also wonder if the technology isn’t there to tell you when you have too many clubs in the bag. That might have saved Ian Woosnam at the 2001 British Open. At that tournament, Woosnam was in the lead in the final round, when his caddy, Miles Byrne discovered on the second tee that he had two drivers. Woosnam had to take a two stroke penalty, and flustered, bogeyed the next two holes. He finished four strokes behind eventual winner David Duval.

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.

A golf center in the Chicago area has installed a new practice system called Top Golf. A story in the Chicago Tribune describes it:

TopGolf is a futuristic three-story facility that uses high-tech computer technology to provide a unique interactive experience. It starts by using golf balls embedded with microchips, registering them as your ball.

You hit those balls into 11 dartboard-like greens, which have underground readers—1,200 in all—that transmit data about the shot back to a computer monitor at your station. You then get an exact reading of how far your ball traveled and how close it came to the flag—assuming, of course, you hit the green.

It is terrific feedback. No more guessing, “Is that flag 150 or 175 yards?”

Golfers simply can spend their time hitting shots at those flags, like a regular practice session. But the real allure of TopGolf is being able to play games.

Consisting of 20 balls, TopGolf gives the player four options. The most basic game is scoring points by hitting balls into any of the 11 targets. Another game, called TopPressure, tests the short game by requiring players to chip into nine segments of a green.

You can play against yourself or in a group of up to four players.

The beauty of playing the games is that every shot counts. The T-O-P in TopGolf stands for “Target-Oriented Practice.”

The company also offers Top Chip and Top Putt. The Top Chip looks good, but photos of the Top Putt remind me of a low-end miniature golf course—one with the green, but no windmills or clown feet.

It’s a great idea, and I can see these finding a real home at one of the four seasons resorts in Northern Michigan. It would be very cool to come in off the slopes at Boyne, pick up my clubs and head over to an enclosed range for some golf practice. They’ve already got massive indoor water parks, so this would be a natural.