Best of Show – 2005 PGA Show Wrap-up |
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By: Dr. Barry Lotz
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The event this year was an ode to the creativity and innovation of those who love golf, are continually searching for the perfect club and for the best way to become a scratch golfer. In attending and identifying the best products at a PGA Show, one faces a major hurdle – time to visit and talk with the inventors and sales teams. This year the Show organizers scheduled both a demo day for retailers and club manufacturers, as well as an indoor testing area. The Fall Las Vegas Show is gaining popularity once again, and this year there were a total of 332 exhibitors, a 6 percent increase over 2004. Top participating golf manufacturers included: Antigua, Ben Hogan, Ben Hogan Apparel, Callaway Golf, Club Car, Full Swing Golf, Nike Golf, Sport-Haley, Top-Flite Golf, Tour Edge, Wilson Golf, Wittek and Yonex. Notable new companies and manufacturers that returned after not having a presence in 2004 included: Ahead Headgear, Bette & Court, Bridgestone Sports, Callaway Golf Apparel, Dockers Tour, Lilly Pulitzer, Pukka Headwear, Puma, Sunderland of Scotland, Orlimar, Softspikes/Pride Sports and the Tommy Armour Golf Company. So what’s really exciting, different and useful this year?
Trumpeting the biggest footprint in golf, the SasQuatch uses Nike’s NexTi titanium face, taking the center of gravity deeper than any other driver. Nike’s engineers have designed a club with the ideal ratio between the width of the clubface and the depth of the club head. The SasQuatch geometry pushes the breadth-to-face length ratio up, resulting in a larger, more forgiving sweet spot. As Nike likes to say; it’s geometry over moveable weights. The distinctive yellow tracks combined with its visually distinctive head design make it stand out in a crowd. Nike’s Powerbow technology, placed on the back of the driver, expands the perimeter of performance, making it easier to get the ball up and hit it straight. The Powerbow adds a trailing volume of mass to apply more power and control to the ball without overstepping the 460 cc legal limit. The SasQuatch is available in both a Tour 460 cc version and a Standard 460cc version and features a proprietary Diamana shaft with various flexes. . Standard version lofts are: 8.5°, 9.5° 10.5° Lucky 13° Sweet 16° Left Handed: 9.5° 10.5° Lucky 13° Womens: 10.5° (W); Lucky 13° (W), Sweet 16° (W) SRP: $359.00 Tour version (The SasQuatch Tour 460 has a taller face height with less breadth than the SasQuatch 460.) ofts are: 8.5°, 9.5° and 10.5° Left Handed: 9.5° MSRP: $419.00
In addition to being able to adjust the weights for your style of putting (pendulum or arc), the inserts can be adjusted to suit the greens played – the feel and the sound you prefer in less than five minutes. Included with each putter is the Talon 4-Speed weight kit that includes a custom tool and weight cartridges. This allows the putter to be modified to achieve 3 specific weight choices, 375 grams (aluminum), 425 grams (brass), or 475 grams (tungsten). You can also mix and match weight cartridges for your own custom feel. MSRP: $299.00
At $29.95 one cannot go wrong investing in this training.
Q-Link is the Tour-tested way to enhance your focus, your clarity and your ability to make better decisions, hit better shots and shoot lower scores. According to its makers, Q-Link helps optimize mental focus and reduces the symptoms of stress that can ruin a great round of golf. Developed by Clarus Research, the Q-Link pendant acts like a tuning fork to harmonize the bodys natural biochemical energy. In the process, it enhances your body’s innate energy resulting in a higher level of mental sharpness. In addition to reducing the effects of emotional stress, it staves off the harmful effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) generated by electronic equipment such as cell phones, computers, and video monitors. $129.00
Vision Track is a patented teaching device, invented by Blair Douglass, that trains you how to control swing path, face angle and angle of attack. When you control these, you control ball flight. A student can use this training aid, anytime, anywhere, to perfect their swing. It fits in a golf bag, works for right and left-handers and all size golfers. It is very reasonably priced and comes with an excellent instructional video. MSRP: $99.95
All Golden Retrievers feature a claw that will easily and effectively retrieve your golf balls from muddy bottoms and environmentally safe zones. With one simple maneuver, you save time, money, strokes, and frustration. You no longer have to do the “scoop and turn” move that golfers dread. The retriever comes with a telescopic handle and comes in models that extend to 7, 12, 15, and 18 foot lengths. The claw comes with a three-year guarantee. Prices range from $18.95 for the 7ft model to $34.95 for the 18ft model. www.originalgoldenretriever.com
Three different models are available with the best seller being the Sedan model. This design features a reinforced Toe, is constructed mainly of a PU Nubuck. Both lateral sides of the upper at the breast of the foot are capped with textured PVC for added durability and finished off with a sandwich poly-mesh tongue and fully encompassed ankle to the exterior. The interior is plush with padding and wall-to-wall combed combo mesh. They are extremely easy to clean-up with a fresh damp cloth. Available in 5 colors from sizes 4-13. MSRP: $68.00
Additionally, the bag has a patented top-mounted roller-bottom stand mechanism that adds stability and provides quick leg action. A lift assist strap to aid in getting in and out of a car trunk is included. There are seven pockets – a water bottle pouch, plus a full-length clothing pocket, velour lined valuables pocket and multiple accessory pockets. The Flight bag is available in seven handsome color combinations. MSRP: $175
This issue has now been resolved by PAYNE-MASON Cigars. Using individual glass encased cigars, freshness is no longer a problem, presentation is eye appealing and these cigars are excellent and well priced. The cigars sell themselves. This is the reason that the PAYNE-MASON Cigar Company is the winner of twenty of twenty-one global cigar-tasting competitions. Their cigars are exquisite. PAYNE-MASON ‘s three dedicated Cuban master rollers, their custom-crafted humidor quality boxes and glass encased cigar holders, minimum six-year aged tobacco, and horizontally cured leaves (a rare practice), have given them a reputation well deserved as having “The World’s Finest Cigars.” PAYNE-MASON offers a nineteen-cigar line-up, highlighted by their signature Torpedo Barber, a beautifully rolled Connecticut Shade puro with Maduro swirls rolled all the way through its length. The tobacco that goes into the PAYNE-MASON line of cigars hails from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Ecuador. While Connecticut wrappers are featured prominently throughout their selection of cigars, PAYNE-MASON prefers that the origin of the binder and filler tobaccos that make these blends so good remain a mystery. PAYNE-MASON, with the same quality and care that they put into their cigars also introduced their chocolate line. WOW! This was worth the trip to Vegas itself. There are chocolates like Godiva and Lindt, but there is nothing like the PAYNE-MASON Premiere Cru line of chocolates – the ultimate, the very best.
At last, a golf bag made specifically for the cigar smoking golfer! Holding 10 cigars, this waterproof humidor does an excellent job of preserving cigars from both drying out and being crushed. The bag is a great birthday and Xmas gift for the cigar-smoking golfer. $199.95 |
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Barry Lotz, J.D., Ph.D. is the director of the Professional Golf Teachers Association of America. He is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America, the California Golf Writers Association, and serves both as a Consultant and Mediator to the golf industry. He is also the author of numerous books, including “333 Best Web Sites for Golfers” and his current book, “How to Build Business Relationships Through Golf” is in the Top Ten Golf Business Book’s best seller list. He can be reached at www.pgtaa.com or drlotz@cbsgolf.net |
The Top Ten Best Products of the 2005 Fall PGA Show
Without a doubt, Nike’s new Sasquatch driver stole the Show.
With all the moveable weight technologies used in drivers and fairway woods this past year, Fisher Putters has encapsulated the best of this technology into an amazingly accurate putter. Without being a rocket scientist, the ease of adapting this putter to suit your particular putting style is worth the price alone. Sinking putts consistently is the ultimate payoff.
The newest Q-Link model features the improved SRT-3 resonating cell, making it considerably stronger and more effective. Over 300 Tour players are believers of the benefits of Q-Link.
At the Show we “discovered” another extremely useful and easy to use teaching device called the Vision Track. Vision Track corrects the linear golf path illusion. Since the brain directs the body to swing the golf club, it demands visual information as to which direction to swing the clubhead. The Vision Track, with its innovative “eye positioning technique,” provides the precise visual information as to where the clubhead must be swung on track prior to impact. The golf ball is then easily seen as an object simply positioned at a certain point on the curved swing path.
Finally, an easy to use ball retriever!
Simply the most comfortable golf shoe available today. Tour players and everyday golfers are praising this shoe. Features include an extra cushion that promotes shock absorption, lateral stability and breathability.
To keep all your new clubs, we recommend Sun Mountain’s new Flight bag. This is the first golf bag available that combines an individual club divider system with a lightweight stand weighing just 5-pounds! In addition to being a lightweight stand bag, with a 14-way top with full-length dividers, the Flight features Sun Mountain’s E-Z Fit® dual strap system for a balanced carry.
One of the biggest complaints about buying cigars at a golf course is the lack of freshness. This is due to both lack of cigar care and humidor controls, as well as sales- staff limited knowledge of cigars.
Produced in small batches of 250 pieces or fewer, each Premiere Cru Chocolate reaches the highest level of quality and flavor. Every recipe is designed to achieve the balance and excitement true chocolate aficionados appreciate. Selected nuts are gently roasted on site to ensure quality levels. The attention to detail is not only in the creation of these masterpieces, but also highlighted in the final designs and finishing touches of each individual selection.
I recently was examining swing sequences of some of the greatest players in history. Knowing that some of these players favored a draw as their standard shot while others preferred a fade, I sought to identify swing features within each group that would explain their respective ball-flight tendencies. Something profound emerged that I think will benefit all golfers, especially those cursed with a wicked slice.