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A Few Golf Items Not Under My Tree

December 28, 2009 | By Chris Chirico | 3 Comments

Is it just me, or is there always a person or company that just pushes things a bit too far in this capitalist economy? Example: There’s been no greater invention in recent memory than the push-up bra. But remember the $2 million, diamond-encrusted creation from a few years back? That’s what I’m talking about. What’s the point? Who is wearing it and why? Is the $40 push-up from Victoria’s Secret not good enough? I know it is for me.

Well, it seems this mind-set extends into the golf world also. Apparently renting a golf cart at the course is not good enough for some. Maybe dropping $2,000-$3,000 on your own personal cart is not quite enough either. No, some people are just not satisfied until they are cruising the fairways in this:

That’s right. A Hummer Golf Cart with a body kit officially licensed by General Motors. There’s a lift kit, embroidered-leather seats, aluminum rims, wood grain dash, working headlights and turn signals and even a cooler built into the hood. Price: $20,000.

Maybe you prefer to walk the course though. As nice as the above cart may be, you think you get a better feel for the course by walking it. But if you’re going to walk that rough golf course terrain, you certainly can’t do it in some $350 Nike’s. And for one reason or another even the $400 Ecco’s just aren’t comfortable enough. You need something that is custom built for your foot and your foot alone. Enter John Lobb:

John Lobb Bootmakers will be more than happy to hand-make you this fantastic pair of golf shoes in your choice of calf, crocodile or elephant leathers, for the bargain basement price of only $5,000. Now I’m all for a pair of comfortable shoes, but for that kind of money I had better be able to wear these as everyday shoes and just speak the words “Go, go gadget golf spikes” whenever I’m ready to hit the course. Until then, I’ll stick with my Foot-Joy’s. On the flip-side though, if they’re good enough for James Bond….

What about your clubs? Are those shiny new $1,500 Callaway’s not enough to boost your ego or impress your playing partners? Then you may be in need of these:

Honma Golf of Japan will custom make one amazing set of clubs for you. And when I say custom, I’m talking custom like no other. You can choose the head shape, size, weight, grip and shaft. In addition you can also decide just how much 24k gold plating you would like. Would you like some platinum detail? Just ask and it’s yours. They would even be happy to engrave your initials on each club. Price on these masterpieces? Roughly $53,000 for a set of fourteen clubs.

A set of clubs like that surely cannot be carried in just any bag, right? Well, that’s where French fashion house Louis Vuitton comes in. LV dips their toes into the golf market with this:

Presenting the LV Damier Geant golf bag. It’s made of canvas and cowhide, comes with a zip-up hood, it’s own cover and even an umbrella. Louie V. also promises “many pockets.” For a starting price of $9,750, I’d have to say I was hoping for more. Do canvas and cowhide make this bag worth $9,630 more than my TaylorMade bag? Well I guess since it comes with it’s own umbrella….

All of the above accesories, as ridiculous as they may be, are trumped by the following. Ladies and Gentlemen, ladies especially, feast your eyes on this:


Thanks to Tri Mark Golf we are all now blessed with the worlds most expensive golf ball marker. This 18k white gold piece is marked with diamonds, citrine, amethyst and peridot stones. Sound a bit too nice to simply lay down on the ground? Don’t worry…it doubles as a necklace. Price: $10,000. And I was floored when I saw custom ball markers for $25!

Last, but certainly not least, is somewhere to use all of these fine accesories. Well, keeping with the theme of things, how about the worlds most expensive round of golf? For that, we’ll have to head to Barbados, home of Sandy Lane Spa & Resort.

Sandy Lane is home to three Tom Fazio courses, including the famous Green Monkey. At $385 per round, the course is certainly not the most expensive, but the fees are only part of the story. You see, Green Monkey is open only to guests of the resort. Minimum price for one room for one night? $2,000. Total for one round of golf at Green Monkey – $2,385!

I guess even in these poor economic times, there is still money to be spent foolishly. A $10,000 ball marker? My ball marker comes in denominations of one cent, five cents, ten cents and twenty-five cents – depending upon which coin I pull out of my pocket first. But hey, if you have this kind of money and it’s no problem for you to spend it, then enjoy. I don’t know that feeling and I’m quite sure I may never know it. But something tells me if I did, I could still find better things to do with $20,000 than spend it on a Hummer golf cart.

Well…., maybe not.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: ball marker, Callaway, Ecco, Foot-Joy, golf bag, golf cart, golf shoes, Green Monkey, Honma Golf, Hummer, John Lobb, Louis Vuitton, Nike, Sandy Lane, Tri Mark Golf

Golf Ball Hell

December 9, 2009 | By Greg D'Andrea | 3 Comments

100_0231You can have a nervous breakdown trying to pick out golf balls. I hope I’m not alone in this assessment, but I can literally stand in front of a wall of golf ball boxes for like an hour, trying to figure out which ones I should pick.

Newbies to golf typically will purchase the cheapest options – Top Flite or the like, where $10 can buy you 20 balls. I envy those new golf hacks – the choice is easy for them. $10 for 20? That’s a no-brainer. They figure the balls are destined for the drink or lumber yard anyway, so why spend more?

However, I’ve been playing golf for 20 years. I know why I won’t spend $10 for 20 Top Flite’s. I’d like to have my ball last more than a hole without scuffs on it, thank you very much. And I’m not a terrible golfer either – I understand what “feel” means when it says “better distance and feel” on the side of the box – I want it to land softly and “hold” the green.

But I also know I’m no “player.” I don’t “work the ball” too often, I don’t really “cut it,” or intentionally draw or fade it with much success…So I don’t need to spend $45 on a dozen three-piece balls like the Titleist Pro-V1. Yes, I’ve narrowed it down to the $20 to $30 range for a dozen balls. That’s where I’m most comfortable – where I get a decent ball for a decent price. But there are so many options in that price range – which inevitably leaves me standing for an hour in the golf-ball section of my local sporting goods store.

To make matters worse, I just realized there are now more options for me to choose from…Options that I previously ignored when I was shopping for balls: Recycled golf balls. Most golfers intentionally overlook recycled (or refurbished) golf balls for various reasons, but my main reason was that I always heard once balls were submerged in water or out in the elements for a while, quality and distance would be hindered. But a new study done by GolfBallTest.org says otherwise. In their tests, there was virtually no difference between new and recycled balls of the same brand. This is intriguing.

After reading the white paper on the study, I picked up a dozen recycled Nike One balls at Target for $9.99 and played a few rounds with them. I have to say, I was impressed with them – impressed to the point where I will probably buy another box next season. If this study gets some publicity, it may change the golf ball industry!

But another new discovery has me ever more intrigued. There are companies out there that will actually custom fit you with a golf ball…and do it all online no less. GolfBallSelector.com touts “a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures to generate precise [golf ball] recommendations.” For just $19.95, you get a one-time fitting to match you with your balls. Interesting. You’ll find a similar site at TheRightBall.com. So there’s two ways you can look at these golf-ball-fitting sites: Either they’re a rip-off and not worth considering; Or your days of wondering what golf ball to use are over.

While one day I may fork-over the 20 bones and take the Golf Ball Selector test, I think for now I’m gonna stick to my recycled Nike balls…at least until another study comes along and shoots the GolfBallTest analysis out of the water. Until then, I am glad to report less of my life will be wasted on choosing golf balls. Hmmm, this post has me thinking – I wonder what grips I should put on my clubs for next season?

Filed Under: Golf Life Tagged With: golf balls, GolfBallSelector.com, GolfBallTest.org, Nike, Pro-V1, recycled golf balls, refurbished golf balls, Titleist, top flite, used golf balls

With Sideshow Status Diminished, Wie Begins Career

August 24, 2009 | By Greg D'Andrea | Leave a Comment

Michelle Wie’s career to this point had been basically relegated to a sideshow. “Come see the little girl take on the biggest and baddest male players in the game!”

Her sponsor, Nike, tossed oodles of cash at her family (I say her family because when your 14, signing multimillion-dollar deals and playing an event on the opposite sex’s adult golf tour, you’re most likely not calling the shots) and thrust her upon a national stage far removed from the innocent image of a young athlete with huge potential.

Initially, Nike’s investment in Sideshow Shelly seemed to be working, as 14-year-old Michelle “Shelly” Wie (who also happens to be 6′-1″ and can launch bombs 300+ yards) barely missed the cut at the PGA Tour’s 2004 Sony Open in her home state of Hawaii.

But it was mostly downhill from there. In her mid-teens, Wie was clearly out-of-her-league in male events, and was struggling to hold her own in female events too. To make matters worse, she earned the reputation of a prima donna of sorts, withdrawing from tournaments in which she was playing wretchedly and blaming it on an injured wrist (or sometimes both wrists). Perhaps Ms. Wie suffered from legitimate wrist issues, but to the golf world (especially some LPGA members), it was just an excuse.

Fast-forward to 2009 and Ms. Wie is now old-enough to vote (though not yet to drink) and is making a name for herself on the LPGA tour. While she still doesn’t have a win (2nd is her best finish), she has finally been playing like a consistent golf pro. And this helped her get selected to the Solheim Cup in Chicago this past weekend. For her part, Wie probably played the best golf of her career and was clearly the best golfer on the course, winning three of her four matches and halving the other.

But beyond her play this weekend, she showed team spirit. Her face was painted with an American flag, she used a stars and stripes ribbon to tie her ponytail, and she led the U.S. team around the 18th green for a victory lap after the match. Wie was more than a golfer this weekend; she was a fan. And it seems, for now at least, she’s earned the respect of her fellow tour players.

Ms. Wie still has much to prove on the course, and much to put behind her from her past. But if she can play the way she did this weekend (e.g. to show she really and truly enjoys herself), she may one day drop the sideshow act altogether and take her rightful place as the main attraction. God knows a lack of main attractions has been a problem for golf of late.

Filed Under: The Pro Tours Tagged With: LPGA, Michelle Wie, Nike, PGA, Solheim

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