Acushnet Selling Cobra Golf to Puma
March 10, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Golf Equipment
MIAMI The Acushnet Company, makers of Titleist and FootJoy products, is selling the third piece of its golf business, Cobra, to Puma.
In a release sent to members of the media this morning, Wally Uihlein, chairman and CEO of Acushnet, said:
“With the sale of Cobra, we have the opportunity to devote all of our resources to the global growth of our industry-leading Titleist and FootJoy brands. At the same time, Cobra is a strong brand with a heritage of innovation, and we wish the quality associates guiding the brand future success. Golfers and our valued partners will remain the key focus throughout the impending sale and we are confident that our customers will continue to be serviced to our high standards”
According to the release, Acushnet will continue to produce and distribute Cobra Golf products for an undisclosed period of time past the final date of the sale. Acushnet will also provide customer service and sales support during that time.
With the deal, Puma will assume ownership of Cobra’s inventory, intellectual property and endorsement contracts. Camilo Villegas, who won last week’s Honda Classic, is on Cobra’s staff. Ian Poulter, winner of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, is also a Cobra staff player.
Barring regulatory issues, the anticipated sale is expected to be completed by June.
Read more: Acushnet Selling Cobra Golf to Puma
Ping’s New Forged Anser Irons Being Released in Japan
March 9, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Golf Equipment
MIAMI Two weeks ago in Phoenix, before the start of the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Open at TPC Scottsdale, several Ping staff players had a chance to see, hit and learn about the new Anser irons.
Matt Rollins, a Ping tour representative, said Monday, “The clubs are as forgiving as our i15 irons, but they are a little sleeker looking and they’ve got the word ‘Forged’ on the back, which we’ve never had.”
For gearheads and Ping fans, that single word, forged, will raise eyebrows.
Ping has always made cast irons, a process that involves creating extremely-detailed molds and then filling them with liquid metal to create the clubheads. (Click here to see a video showing how Ping casts clubs.)
To make forged irons, a piece of metal is heated and then hammered or pressed into shape.
“We’ve been talking about making a forged iron for while,” Rollins said. “But for our guys, it’s kind of funny. Once we put chrome on a cast club, people thought it was forged.
“They are only available in Japan right now,” Rollins said. “They might release it in the United States later, but I don’t know.” He explained that in the Japanese market, irons need to be forged in order to be perceived as high quality. Irons that are not forged simply don’t sell well.
While not a super game-improvement iron, the Anser irons feature plenty of perimeter weighting and tungsten in the sole to help players get the ball into the air more easily. The PING badge on the back of the club is a weight that can be changed as part of the fitting process.
Read more: http://blogs.golf.com/equipment/2010/03/ping-forged-anser-irons-in-japan.html#ixzz0hhYrA2Bq
Ping and PGA Tour Agreement Puts an End to Eye2 Controversy
March 8, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Golf Equipment, Uncategorized
MIAMI The loophole that allowed Ping Eye2s with nonconforming grooves to be played on the PGA Tour has been closed thanks to an agreement between Ping Golf and the tour.
John Solheim, Ping’s chairman and CEO, announced in a joint release with the PGA Tour that the company will waive its right to prevent the tour from prohibiting the use of pre-April 1990 EYE2 irons and wedges. Those clubswhich have been used this season at various times by Phil Mickelson, John Daly and Hunter Mahando not meet the 2010 USGA groove rules.
Starting March 29, players on the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour will no longer be allowed to use the pre-1990 Eye2 irons and wedges. In addition, Ping is also waiving its legal rights that would have made the clubs legal for the U.S. Open.
“John Solheim and Ping had a terrific opportunity to do something very positive and significant for the game of golf and we very much appreciate his willingness to take this action,” said PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem.
“We’re thankful for Commissioner Finchem’s understanding of our position and his role in helping bring about this resolution. We all believe it is in the best interests of golf,” said Solheim. “It levels the playing field on the PGA Tour and resolves a very unfortunate situation that we predicted would happen when the USGA first proposed the new groove rule more than two years ago. It keeps in place all of our other rights established in the 1993 PGA Tour settlement and the 1990 USGA settlement, including ensuring amateurs will continue to be able to play their pre-April 1990 EYE2s at all amateur events played under the USGA Rules of Golf.”
Pros who still want to use Eye2 irons or wedges can continue to use clubs that the company has made with updated grooves.
This development does not affect amateur golfers who use pre-1990 Ping Eye2 irons and wedges. The clubs are still legal for play and will continue to be, according to Ping.
“We’ve heard from a lot of loyal Ping Eye2 owners who were concerned that a resolution of the tour’s issue might also keep them from playing their Eye2s that were grandfathered as a result of the 1990 USGA settlement. I want to reassure those golfers that their clubs remain conforming in all amateur events played under the USGA Rules of Golf,” said Solheim, who negotiated the original agreements together with his father, Karsten Solheim. “The problem is solved on the PGA Tour and the integrity of the original agreements is unaffected.”
Winning Clubs: Camilo Villegas at 2010 Honda Classic
March 8, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Golf Equipment
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. — Camilo Villegas was checking his phone constantly on the driving range, barely bothering to hit any balls and instead seeking updates on how his brother was doing at a Nationwide Tour event in their native Colombia.
As Villegas showed all week, practice can be overrated.
Villegas shot a 2-under 68 on Sunday for a five-stroke victory in the Honda Classic, his third PGA Tour victory.
He finished at 13-under 267, the lowest 72-hole score since the tournament moved to PGA National in 2007, four shots better than Y.E. Yang’s winning total a year ago. And Villegas made it look easy most of the way, too, capping his day with a 20-footer for birdie, then raising both hands skyward.
Anthony Kim (67) was second at 8 under, Justin Rose (64) was another stroke back, and Paul Casey (67) and Vijay Singh (72) followed at 6 under.
Toshiba Classic
Newport Beach, Calif. — Fred Couples won his second straight Champions Tour title, shooting a 6-under 65 for a four-stroke victory in the Toshiba Classic.
Couples, making his third start on the 50-and-over tour, had an 18-under 195 total on the Newport Beach Country Club course. He won the ACE Group Classic on Feb. 14 in Florida and finished second behind Tom Watson in the season-opening event in Hawaii. Last week, Couples tied for 14th in the PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open.
Couples earned $255,000 to push his tour-leading total to $691,000.
Ronnie Black (65) finished second. Tom Lehman (69) and Chien Soon Lu (69) tied for third at 12 under, and Watson (62) and Loren Roberts (68) followed at 11 under.
Couples opened with rounds of 66 and 64. In nine Champions Tour rounds, he hasn’t had a score higher than 68 and is 56-under par over 162 holes.
Australian Ladies Masters
Gold Coast, Australia — Karrie Webb won her seventh Australian Ladies Masters title, closing with a course-record 11-under 61 for a six-stroke victory.
Webb, a stroke ahead of defending champion Katherine Hull and South Korea’s Lee Bo-mee entering the final round, finished at 26-under 262 on the Royal Pines course to match the tournament record she set in 1999.
Webb holed a 9-iron approach from about 110 yards for eagle on the par-4 seventh and made a 30-foot putt on No. 18 for her ninth birdie of the round. She broke the course record of 62 set last year by Kristie Smith.
Hull and Lee, bogey-free in four rounds, shot 66s to tie for second in the event sanctioned by Australian Ladies Professional Golf and the Ladies European Tour.
Bogota Open
Bogota, Colombia — Steve Pate became the oldest champion in Nationwide Tour history, winning the Bogota Open when Aaron Watkins missed a 3-foot par putt on the second hole of a playoff.
At 48 years, 9 months, 11 days, Pate broke the tour record of 48 years, 6 months, 17 days set by Dick Mast in the 1999 New Mexico Classic.
Pate won for the first time since the 1998 CVS Charity Classic, the last of his six PGA Tour titles. The victory drought spanned 245 starts (173 PGA Tour, 72 Nationwide Tour) and lasted 11 years, 7 months, 11 days
The Associated Press
Prohands Grip Strength Exerciser
March 1, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Golf Equipment
Being a hack golfer and a rock & roll drummer means my hands and forearms need to be in good shape. The last couple PGA Tour rounds Ive watched on TV Ive made sure to keep my Prohands PRO handy, doing some exercises to build up my strength for the upcoming golf season.
Gripmasters Prohands is a hand exerciser, much better than squeezing a tennis ball or one of those two handled v-shaped devices. The PRO model is the one I have, because Im a pro. Ahem. The unit has individual finger springs for working each finger as well as the muscles and ligaments in the hand and arm.
Models
Prohands has different models for different types of users. The VIA unit is for musicians, specifically horn players as the tension poles are similar to the valve controls on horns. The Gripmaster is good for musicians as well as general users. The PRO, the most advanced unit, is for more serious users.
My PRO unit comes in three tension levels: light, medium and heavy. Im on medium now, but I hope to move to heavy as my strength builds up over this season.
Golfers Elbow
The season is just beginning to start here, so my golfers elbow hasnt flared up yet. Im hoping that by using the Gripmaster PRO Ill build up the strength in my forearm tendons and muscles. I anticipate this helping a great deal with my elbow pain.
Hank Haney DVD
I just finished watching the bonus 26 minute Hank Haney (Tiger Woods coach) instructional DVD which comes with the unit. Hank covers a lot of the basics behind the grip and how the Prohands can help with strength, distance and control. The DVD itself is worth the price of admission, $21.95 for the PRO unit.
Conclusion
It is too early in the season to tell, but I hope to have some increased strength and control through exercising with my Prohands unit. I hope to add some distance of course, like everyone does. But I also hope to have more accuracy, especially out of the rough. Ill have to do a follow up post later with an update on my progress.
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Prohands Grip Strength Exerciser
Winning Clubs: Hunter Mahan at 2010 Waste Management Phoenix Open
March 1, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Golf Equipment
Here is a complete list of the clubs that Hunter Mahan used to win the 2010 Waste Management Phoenix Open:
- DRIVER: Ping Rapture V2 (10.5) with a Ping Prototype 824 X shaft
- FAIRWAY WOOD: Ping i15 (15.5) with an Aldila RIP 80 X shaft
- HYBRID: Ping i15 (17) with a UST V2 89 X hybrid shaft
- IRONS: Ping S-57 (3-PW) with True Temper
- WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (54), Ping EYE2 (59) with True Temper S-300 shafts
- PUTTER: Ping IWI D66
- BALL: Titleist Pro V1x
Video: Nike Athletes on SQ Machspeed STR8-Fit Driver
February 26, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Golf Equipment
In this video, provided by Nike Golf , staff players including Justin Leonard, Trevor Immelman and Lucas Glover talk about the performance, look and feel of the new SQ Machspeed STR8-Fit driver : See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Nike clubs and schedule your fitting with GolfTec Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter
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Video: Nike Athletes on SQ Machspeed STR8-Fit Driver
Adidas Golf to Reward Aces with Free Shoes
February 24, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Golf Equipment
By Woody Hochswender To mark the introduction of its next-generation Powerband 3.0 shoes at the Waste Management Phoenix Open this week, Adidas Golf is providing fans with an actual reason to shout in the hole at the par-3 16th. The company will give away 10,000 free pairs of Powerbands if either Kenny Perry or Pat Perezits sponsored professionalsmakes an ace on the stadium par 3. Fans must register at the Adidas website in order to be eligible. The Powerband 3.0, which retails for $140,
Winning Clubs: Ian Poulter at WGC Accenture Match Play Championship
February 22, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Golf Equipment
Here is a complete list of the clubs Ian Poulter used to win the 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship: DRIVER: King Cobra ZL (9.5) with a Fujikura 6.0 Motore Speeder X shaft FAIRWAY WOOD: Titleist 909F2 (13.5) with a Fujikura Rombax 7X07 shaft, Titleist 906F2 (18) with a Grafalloy ProLite 35 shaft HYBRID: Titleist 909H (21) with an Aldila NV Hybrid 85 X shaft IRONS: King Cobra Pro CB (4-7), Pro MB (8-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C (54, 60) PUTTER: Rife Antigua BALL: Titleist Pro V1x See-Try-Buy: Learn more about Cobra and Titleist clubs, and schedule your fitting with GolfTEC . Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter (Photo by David Dusek)
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Winning Clubs: Ian Poulter at WGC Accenture Match Play Championship
New Grooves Mean Less Loft for Geoff Ogilvy
February 17, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Golf Equipment
When the USGA's new groove rule changes were first announced, some people assumed that every PGA Tour player would immediately start carrying a 64 wedge. The thinking was that if players were not going to be able to spin the ball as much with the new grooves, they'd need more loft in order to stop the ball with trajectory. Right? Wrongat least in the mind of defending WGC-Accenture Match Play champion Geoff Ogilvy. “I think the way that things were going, with grooves getting so sharp and company's getting so good at making them, a lot of guys were grabbing a 64 wedge,” he told me Tuesday evening. “But when I was younger, the idea of a 64 wedge was laughable. I mean, you just wouldn't use it. But it became usable.” But the smaller, duller grooves that players must compete with today have made using a super-high lofted wedge tricky again. In fact, Ogilvy feels that he can't get enough spin out of his 60 any more, so he pulled the club out of his bag this week and is going with a 58 Vokey Spin Milled C-C wedge instead. “If I think back to when I was a kid, I never liked hitting pitch shots with a lob wedge off short grass because the ball seemed to roll up the face and create a loopy flight,” he said. “But hitting with my 56 sand wedge, or a stronger wedge, it would grab onto the face and spin.” This year, at the season's first event in Hawaii, the ball started rolling up the face of Ogilvy's lob wedge, just as it did when he was a junior player. “I had probably not done enough practicing with it,” he admitted. “But you can practice on the range but there is no substitute for being in a tournament. Then, in Abu Dhabi, I was just like, 'This is not right.' I was shying away from playing this club, and you don't want to have a club in the bag that you don't want to hit. And arguably, for a lot of guys out here, it's the most important club in the bag.” A loft difference of two is almost impossible to see, but the difference allows the top grooves on the club to grab more of the ball and impart more of the spin that he needs around the greens. And for Ogilvy, who defeated Alexander Noren 7 and 5 on Wednesday, it makes all the difference. See-Try-Buy: Learn more about
