Look, regardless of what kind of golf clubs you think Nike makes, just having Tiger Woods endorse your products guarantees a large number of sales. But Nike has done wonders with its new SQ Dymo2 STR8-FIT driver as it tries to grab more market share. Namely, they’ve manufactured a club face that blows away the old Sasquatch/Sumo models. The ball fires and climbs off the face, and the distance/carry you get now competes with Nike’s rivals on the driver side of the biz. (I walked it off … I got about 15 more yards than the original Sasquatch I had been ...

Yes, Tiger Woods won his first match at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. But if you bothered to look beyond his birdie-eagle start Wednesday, you saw a golf superstar so far off his game that I bet it even surprised Woods. Did you see some of those wild shots he hit Thursday (actually, both days)? It would be hard to pick which one was the worst. Hey, that Nike commercial was great, you know the one where everybody’s having a great time, and then suddenly Woods walks in and the locker room goes silent? Well, maybe the students are still shooting ...

Just got the new TaylorMade R9 Driver late Tuesday, and dude, it is a hot piece of machinery! Don’t bother running down to your local golf shop to get it, either. It won’t be in stores for at least a couple weeks, or as TaylorMade so succinctly put in their promo material, “3.06.09.” I’ll be test driving it Wednesday, before Tiger Woods enraptures the golf world with his comeback at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz. A more detailed review will come later. With its clean lines and aerodynamic shape, if this ...

You might not be able to play the famed Blue Monster course during this particular stay at Doral Golf Resort & Spa. Seems Tiger Woods likely will have a tee time that weekend while trying to win another World Golf Championships – CA Championship title that weekend. But you certainly can have a front row seat to watch one of the top PGA Tour events March 12-15, when the Miami resort is offering a 15% discount on its tournament golf packages. The bargains start at $349 per night ($399 for double occupancy) and include daily tickets that give ...

Tough times for the golf industry hasn’t stopped Rosen Shingle Creek resort from saying thanks to those who serve our country. From now through September, the Orlando golf destination has put in special rates for active duty, reserve and retired military personnel. Service members can play for $59 until April 5, then $49 from April 6 through May 17. The summer rate is $39 from May 18 to September 30. Price includes greens fees and golf cart at Shingle Creek Golf Club. It’s a deep discount, too. Rates usually run between $79 and $149 during those dates. ...

PINE MOUNTAIN, Ga. - I really didn’t feel like going. But I’m glad I did. Any trip to a golf destination or vacation resort includes one of those moments. Golf might be the first priority, but you’ve got to put the sticks down occasionally and enjoy a little history and culture. Hey, if you want to be a lug, stay home and don’t crowd the courses and sites for the rest of us! This time, I got in the car and drove from Callaway Gardens through the FDR State Park, taking Highway 190 along Pine Mountain. The gorgeous views west ...

Random thoughts on the first day of a trip to Callaway Gardens (Lake View and Mountain View courses) in Pine Mountain, Ga.: There are no bounds to the idiocy of our airlines. And the Japanese Paper Kite is a very cool butterfly. Did AirTran, Delta, American and every other airline figure that charging people to check bags only encourages people not to check them? Which causes even more people to try and jam their luggage onto planes? You know who you all are, and after listening to a gate attendant in Sarasota berate boarding customers several times, I was ...

Seems a good number of golf destinations and resort hotels have been renovating, refurbishing, remodeling (or whatever you want to call it) their properties lately. Which could be a hopeful economic indicator for the industry and the travelers they want to attract. I’m headed this week to Callaway Gardens Golf Resort, a property in Pine Mountain, Ga., that has been rejuvenated. They’ve got two courses, the Lake View and Mountain View layouts, a spa and all the amenities. The storied Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida recently announced it has completed a $220 million refurbishment. ...

Another day, another Tiger Woods update. He’s going full bore in practice sessions, his knee is stronger than ever, surgery hasn’t changed his swing … Yawn. Meanwhile, television, tournaments and the PGA Tour wait for the bailout that only Tiger can provide. Like he’ll single-handedly turn every 55-inch flat screen back to golf and rescue the game from economic ruin. If anybody could, it’s him. A lot is riding on Woods’ return, and not just for Tiger. But I’m just wondering if it’s possible to put too much on Woods’ formidable shoulders. On the course, he ...

ORLANDO – Sure, there’s a buzz here, but it’s a dull one. No spectacular product rollouts, no revolutionary advances in club technology. It’s been more about best practices in business and instruction, not new toys. With all the great stuff of the past 10 years or so, maybe the golf industry needed to take a breather. Or there’s little left to discover. At least one apparel exec begs to differ. Patricia “Tiss” Dahan, Senior Director-Global Apparel for TaylorMade-adidas Golf, dragged me down the hall of the company’s department store-like exhibit and pointed at the shirt collars of ...

ORLANDO – Solar golf bags … it makes perfect sense! Heck, if I’m ever going to “Go Green,” now was the time as I wandered aimlessly around the exhibits after lunch Friday. I literally stumbled into the G24 Innovations booth … and there it was. A good-looking golf bag with a solar panel built into it. You can scoff, but I’m thinking this thing might work. You can discreetly plug in and charge your cell phone, GPS yardage device, iPod, Blackberry or whatever (connectors are available from G24). It needs four ...

ORLANDO – Guys wearing mini-backpacks with antennae sticking up wandered around the SkyCaddie exhibit Friday. Kinda weird, because you got the feeling they might zap you with a stun gun or something. But the GPS device wars are heating up, and SkyCaddie brought out the ground troops to illustrate why they are the top dog. These are the mappers, the ones who use survey equipment and walk and measure every inch of the 30,000 courses the company says will be in its database by the end of this year. Apparently none of SkyCaddie’s competitors do it this ...

ORLANDO – The Pro V1 brand owns 40% of the ball market, so what the heck is Titleist doing trying to tinker with the people’s choice of balls? The Titleist crew explained it at a slick presentation in the Chapin Auditorium this morning. Cutting through the technical stuff, here’s how they did it: Pro V1 … It’s not part of the marketing campaign, but from talking to people, I’m told you can get about 5 more yards with the new model. It’s got more spin, has a lower trajectory and slightly different dimple dimensions. Pro V1x ...

ORLANDO - It’s a tie when it comes to the new irons between Callaway’s X 22 and Cleveland Golf‘s CG7 (both classic cavity-backed designs). I’m not sure how to break this deadlock, but the Project X shaft might give Callaway the edge. Still withholding judgment, though. The X 22 continues that line of clubs, which have been best-sellers for years. (I had a set of X 12s I played for seven years, before switching to Ping and then TaylorMade). Callaway has again made a great iron. Cleveland’s CG7 has a great offset look and a yellow injected molding to lessen vibration. ...

ORLANDO – The golf industry convened here to discuss business and unveil products for 2009. An hour or so ago, we received an update on the game’s single BIGGEST industry. That would be Tiger Woods, who according to his coach Hank Haney has nearly worked himself back into top form following last year’s surgery on his left knee. “He’s still a little shocked – and I am too – at the rust that was there,” Haney said. “But he’s played only one time in nine months.” Haney appeared at the PGA Equipment Forum Stage and was ...

ORLANDO – Rarely does a sequel match the original. Maybe that’s why Cleveland Golf waited so long to re-launch its Launcher driver. But after the geometrically challenged Hi-Bore models didn’t become as popular as hoped, the company tapped back into its star player for 2009. No gadget wrenches or funky shaft tips or adjustable weights. The new Launcher has a semi-cone shaped head, but at address it looks like a traditional driver. Cleveland also has one of the best shaft-fitting systems in the business (remember the green aldila in the orginal Launcher?). “It had quite ...

ORLANDO – Remember the golf shoes that looked like wing tips? Or the ones that were spiffy enough you could wear them with a tuxedo? Gone, thankfully, and the trend toward models looking like athletic or running shoes marches on, albeit with high-tech engineering and nods toward fashion. Adidas golf has taken huge chunks of the shoe market in recent years. In 2003, they had a 4% share of the market; last year, they jumped to 18% and passed Nike for No. 2 in the U.S. and Europe behind FootJoy. In Asia, Australia and pretty much ...

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – The PGA Merchandise Show’s Demo Day was like a state fair, only without a Ferris wheel and bumper cars. Still, amid the crowd’s hum and cracking noise of the latest drivers and fairway metals, how could you not overhear this conversation at the Cleatskins Golf exhibit. “Has anybody told you before that looks like a condom?” said somebody who should have been home taking his afternoon nap. “Hard to believe, but that’s not really the first time I’ve heard that,” company spokeswoman Rachel Kay said as nicely as possible. The Cleatskins I saw fit ...

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – Beginning, say, RIGHT NOW, if you can’t fit yourself into a Titleist Vokey wedge, just pick up your ball and don’t bother playing from 100 yards in. Vokey wedges used to stop at 60 degrees loft, covering every inch of yardage gap beyond standard pitching wedges. Among its new line, Titleist has added a 62 and 64 degree club, which throws even more shots into your arsenal (if you own that kind of game) around the greens. “The days of having just a sand wedge in your bag are long over,” says ...

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – I came here to hit golf balls, not grip the football like Edgerrin James or catch passes like Anquan Boldin. According to Cutters Gloves, I can now do both. Talk about a bonus twist of fate. Cutters Gloves, which has made football gloves for years and counts 90 or so NFL players as clients, is making its first foray into the golf business. And Sunday, James and Boldin of the Arizona Cardinals will be wearing Cutters gear in Super Bowl XLIII down the road in Tampa. Dave Venneri, VP of Sales & ...

So what’s hot and shiny and new for golf this year? Heck if I know, that’s why I’m headed to Orlando for the PGA Merchandise Show (click for preview story). First stop … Demo Day at Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge (more than 90 companies are expected to play their wares there), and I’m curious about a few things I’ve already heard … Has Titleist really improved the Pro V1? What about this new Nike ball? What’s the deal with Cleveland Golf re-launching its popular Launcher driver after all these ...

Congrats to Pat Perez. My condolences to Arnold Palmer. Yeah, I know the Bob Hope Classic isn’t a major, and the four La Quinta, Calif., golf courses they used won’t be confused with TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course and Bethpage Black. They played five rounds, too, and Perez notched his first career victory Sunday with a 69 for a 33-under total of 327. That’s right … 33 under!! Ridiculous. Palmer, one of the game’s greatest competitors and grinders who made a special appearance to host the tournament’s 50th anniversary, shouldn’t have had to endure such goofy golf. I would have ...

Resort destinations typically carry a theme throughout their numerous golf courses. Watch the Bob Hope Classic this weekend in La Quinta, Calif., and you’ll see shot after shot with desert and mountains as backdrops. At Amelia Island Plantation tucked in northeast corner of Florida, I had the best of both the seaside and inland worlds this week while playing Ocean Links and Oak Marsh. It was like going to the beach one day and taking a nature hike through a tidal marsh the following morning. It’s a rare mix, having two distinctly different courses next to each other. ...

Usually it’s a no-brainer filling out my World Golf Hall of Fame ballots. Each year, a Vijay Singh or a Raymond Floyd or Se Ri Pak tops the list, and debate centers around one or two candidates. That hasn’t been the case the past couple years. It probably won’t be clear cut again until Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods become eligible when they turn 40. We’ve hit a patch of divots with this era of candidates (I‘ve got until March 2 to make my picks for the November, 2009 induction ceremony at World Golf Village in ...

I was in the midst of breaking down the economic stimulus package over morning coffee and getting ready to call President Obama with the solution when this story came across the wire. Actually, it was buried in my email. But one look at the headline for the GolfWorld piece dated Monday, Jan. 19, caused me to turn off the calculator and put down the phone. “Golf courses were among FDR’s public works projects in the ’30s, and President Obama should include them in the economic stimulus mix” Eureka! Problem solved! Why didn’t I think ...

Even the King thinks kids today need to work harder. Specifically, the PGA Tour’s other 150 or so guys most people couldn’t name without Google-ing Wikipedia. Assuming they even had a page there. Arnold Palmer, didn’t actually call out players for being lazy in trying to at least make Tiger Woods notice them in his rear view mirror. But in a recent interview in advance of next week’s Bob Hope Classic, Palmer suggested this might be a good time to ramp up their work ethic as Woods makes his comeback after a long layoff following knee surgery. Reports are that ...