House Cleaning After The PGA Show

I have attended the last ten PGA Merchandise Shows and the one constant is the number of goofy products introduced each year. Perhaps the strangest was the fake putter that was actually a portable urinal. I think I wrote about that last year. The good news is that Pee-Putter was long gone in 2008.

I don't think I saw anything to top the Pee-Putter; however, there was some fun stuff at this year's show like Big Mouth Golf from the guys that make the really loud golf clothes. Imagine a 1970s Johnny Miller on LSD and you get the idea. Here's a link to the video I shot at the show.

I also saw our friends at AboutGolf, the simulator folks who were introducing a new wrap around screen version of their simulator. The simulation was so realistic I lost my ball.

Our main-man Randy Smith, hardly recognizable in a suit and tie, was working with the good folks at Nike. I purchased a cool Nike wind shirt with my "I know Randy Smith discount" and it was only 10% over retail.

I tried desperately to get a video interview with Jim Furyk but the PR guys at Srixon gave me the Heisman. Later that day I was on my way to the hotel and who should appear right in front of me without nary a Srixon guy in sight but Jim Furyk. As luck would have it I had left my camera back inside the convention center. I asked Jim if he would mind waiting ten or fifteen minutes while I ran back inside to get my camera. He looked at me kind of funny, laughed and said "Sure I got nothing else to do," but when I returned he was gone.

That story is not all together true. I actually knew Jim was kidding me so I never went back. Wouldn't it be ironic if Jim was still out there waiting on me?


One of the big stories at the show was the now legal changeable shafts. There was a packed house at the PGA forum as the OEMs talked about their own particular models. TaylorMade's r7 CGB MAX Limited kit comes in a designer box and includes a newly-developed titanium clubhead with three movable weight ports; three shafts, with different launch properties; two shaft-securing bolts; one 40 inch-pound torque wrench; nine movable weights and one headcover. Although no one volunteered the price, I'm guessing $1,500 for the set. Gulp.

Callaway introduced I-Mix Technology, which also allows players to customize their driver through the use of interchangeable heads and shafts. If, for example, it's a windy day, a golfer now will be able to change to a lower-lofted head to minimize the effects of the gusts, or if it's a cold day, the user can change to a shaft better suited to the weather.

One question that all parties avoided like the plague had to do with creating a standard shaft fitting so any shaft would fit on any head. For now, everyone is going their own way hoping to become the standard. So much for helping out you and I.

There were also some other really good new products like the TOMI, a computer aided putter laser contraption that displayed all kinds of cool stuff about your putting stroke. The TOMI even lets you compare your stroke to all the great putters in the world. I tested the product and the information about the position of the clubface and acceleration before and after impact was remarkable. I also found out that the only thing that Tiger Woods and I have in common when we are putting is… actually the TOMI proved beyond question that we have nothing in common, but how hard was that to predict?

I also like the Easy Swing tempo trainer from our friends at United Sports Technologies. Like most good ideas it's really simple. Imagine a golf club with a shaft that bends like a fishing rod. The idea is to train yourself to have smooth club acceleration. If you jerk down hard from the top the Easy Swing will end up about a foot behind your hands and the ball will end up somewhere right of East Texas. Think of it as a one-piece Medicus, that you don't have to lay it off to find your tempo.

I also spent some time with long time friend and long drive champion Pat Dempsey. He is still trying to get me to make a bigger turn and I'm still trying to get my spine back in line.