By John Strege

Those who have been to Houston in the summer understand the quest to find relief from the oppressive heat and humidity, even on the golf course. They then would also understand why the PGF Personal Golf Fan was conceived by an area resident.

"Back in February '09 -- February normally is still considered winter -- it was a hot day," the inventor, Cynthia Wark, said. "I thought, if it's hot in February what's it going to be like in September? Why couldn't there be a fan blowing on you?"

Wark is a resident of the Woodlands, a suburb of Houston, and is an avid golfer, a member of two clubs, the Club at Carlton Woods and Woodlands Country Club. She hired a patent attorney, found nothing else out there like the fan she was looking for and designed one herself.

The PGF was designed to fit into the cup holder of a golf cart and has an angle adjustment so that the fan can be directed in the proper direction. It was also designed with quality in mind, including a lithium-ion battery that can be charged up to 2,000 times, the company claims. It will run 6 1/2 hours on normal speed and three hours, 45 minutes on high speed. It has a brushless ball-bearing motor that the company says will last for more than 10,000 hours.

"It's a high-quality fan," Wark said. "There's nothing out there like it."

This is more than simply her own opinion. The PGF earned the Pinnacle Award at the PGA Merchandise Show in January. The Pinnacle Award recognizes "the broadest range of efforts by the inventor. From design, market research, sales, fulfillment, manufacturing and quality."

"I had confirmation I had a good product," she said of the award "The judges thought it was a good idea."

The PGF, which will have a price of $199.99, is expected to be available in June and can be purchased through the website.

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By John Strege

The proliferation of apps designed to help golfers with their swings often require video of those swings, which in turn usually requires someone to man the video device.

Rokform, though not a golf company, has developed two products that will enable golfers to use their smart phones to take video of themselves, eliminating the need for a second person.

The latest is the v3 Golf Shooter Lite, a less expensive version ($59) of its original v3 Golf Shooter ($129). The Golf Shooter Lite comes with a mountable phone case (the one shown here is for an iPhone 5), a pole (that can double as an alignment stick) that sticks in the ground and tripod adapter that allows the use of most standard tripods instead of the fiberglass pole.

Simply attach your phone to the pole, stick the pole in the ground behind where you'll be swinging (or face on), hit the record button, then go hit balls.

The more expensive Golf Shooter is a fancier version that includes what resembles a golf shaft with a grip, with the phone attached at the end of the grip. It comes with a protective bag that resembles a headcover.

The v2 Golf Shooters were the brainchild of Jeff Whitten, CEO of Two Brothers Racing, which makes exhaust systems for motorcycles. Whitten is an avid golfer, a member of Mission Viejo (Calif.) Country Club, who carries a 9.7 handicap index.

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By John Strege

Alignment aids are an important consideration in putters and adjustability is the order of the day in golf equipment. A new putter company, Brex Golf, has addressed both issues with the introduction of its first putter, the BG-1.

Brex Golf offers a complete package, which includes three hosel choices (with shafts) -- straight, offset and face-balanced -- that require only an Allen wrench to change. The consumer has the option of keeping all three or testing them, keeping the one they prefer and selling the other two back to the company.

"The modular design made sense, to be able to build the putter exactly the way you like it," Brett Burdick, the founder of the company, said. "Try them all and keep the one you like."

The alignment aid comes in a half-pipe that is exactly the width of the ball and comes with a center line. When the golfer's eyes are directly over the ball, the line appears straight. If they aren't over the ball, the center line appears curved.

"It's really natural, very intuitive," Burdick said. "It gets your eyes over the ball."

The putter head is CNC milled from 303 stainless steel, while the half-pipe is milled aluminum.

Burdick is an electrical engineer by trade, with an affinity for art. "Art's always been a big part of what I've done," he said. "So I've naturally been into design. Probably 20, 25 years ago, I designed a putter, had it machined and contacted some manufacturers."

He never actually showed it to manufacturers, he said, from a concern that his design might be appropriated without his receiving compensation for it.

"I've always just had that idea for a putter in the back of my head," he said. "Just in the last last couple years, I said I want to do what I want to do, be in a business with something I'm passionate about."

For now, the putter is available only at the website, at $299 for one with a single hosel, and $475 for the complete package with the option of selling back two of the hosels. It also has a return policy that allows trying the putter. "We will refund the full amount if the putter is returned in new and unused condition within 30 days," the policy states.

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By Jeff Patterson

Admittedly, I've gone ape over Gorilla Gold, a $5 towel that adds tackiness to your grips. At the national golf writers' tournament, it poured so hard that by the second tee, my rain gloves were too saturated to be effective. In desperation, I dug into my bag for this USGA-approved towel. It's coated with a nontoxic sticky substance -- like pine tar but without the mess, as the company says. Just rub it on your grips and gloves as needed.

The three-pars, one-birdie start at Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club had me in contention, and I could swing as if it were a regular day. Though the tournament director called play, I kept going. Unlike everyone else, I could still hold onto a club. No question, this accessory is better than an umbrella.

By John Strege

The minimalist running shoe movement that began as a means of replicating running barefoot already had been adapted to golf shoes, but Puma has attempted to advance the concept with its introduction of what it calls "the lightest shoe in golf."

The Faas Lite Mesh, a spikeless shoe designed to be worn "from the street to the course," weighs in at 6.5 ounces. It features zero heel-to-toe drop, similar to the bare foot.

Though it is without spikes, the Faas Lite Mesh does have traction elements that it calls SmartQuill technology to enhance stability. It also features corrugated flex grooves that allow the foot to move naturally.

Puma also is introducing the Faas Lite, a waterproof shoe that weights just 8.7 ounces. It, too, has zero heel-to-toe drop and SmartQuill technology.

Both models are offered in three colorways. The Faas Lite Mesh shown above is Brilliant Blue/Limeade.

There, too, are women's versions that are lighter yet -- 5.5 ounces in the Faas Lite Mesh, seven ounces in the Faas Lite.

The suggested retail price for the Faas Lite is $100 for the men's shoe, $90 for the women's shoe. The Faas Lite Mesh price is $90 for the men's shoe, $80 for the women's shoe.

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By John Strege

A colorful apparel line that screams for attention and a demure furry feline icon have formed an unusual partnership and a new line of golf apparel called -- ready or not -- Hello Kitty by Loudmouth Golf.

A women's line, it features pants, skorts and mini-shorts in a variety of the wild color patterns for which Loudmouth Golf is renowned, as well as a Hello Kitty logo. The blue and gold skort is shown here.

"After meeting with the Sanrio [Hello Kitty's parent company] team, we knew a Loudmouth Golf-Hello Kitty partnership was too much fun to ignore," Larry Jackson, Loudmouth Golf CEO, said in a news release. "We know golfers of all ages will enjoy this line. Be sure to keep an eye out for Hello Kitty on the 2013 LPGA tour."

The price of the mini-shorts is $75, the skorts $90 and the pants $110. They are available at Loudmouth Golf's website and will soon be available at Sanrio.com and select Sanrio stores.

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By John Strege

It might have been the same old Tiger Woods in many ways -- winning for the Players Championship on Sunday, his fourth victory of the year and 78th in his PGA Tour career. But there was something new about him. His shoes.

Woods was debuting the new Nike TW '14, the heir to the TW '13 shoes that he began wearing late in 2011 and wore throughout the 2012 season.

Nike, in consultation with Woods, focused on improving fit, feel and function of a shoe designed to work with the natural movement of the foot, while still providing traction golfers require, in a lightweight shoe.

Nike incorporated its Flywire technology -- filaments strategically placed in the upper to provide stability during the a swing.

The TW '14 is available in the colors Woods prefers -- white, black and red. At the Players Championship, he wore the black with red accents on Sunday. A grey TW '14 with blue and green accents will be introduced on Aug. 1.

The TW '14 will be available June 7, with a street price of $180. A Nike TW '14 id that allows customization will be available June 7 as well at a price of $225. The options include a waterproof upper or breathable lightweight mesh and a choice between two outsoles, one with spikes, the other with its Integrated Traction option.

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By John Strege

This year marks the 100th anniversary of amateur Francis Ouimet's stunning victory in the U.S. Open, a performance that helped propel golf into the American mainstream.

The United States Golf Association has chosen to commemorate the occasion with a book, "Great Moments of the U.S. Open," by Robert Williams and Michael Trostel, with a foreword by Jack Nicklaus. Williams is director of the USGA Museum in Far Hills, N.J., while Trostel is senior curator and historian of the museum.

"The 100th anniversary of Ouimet winning was probably the most significant moment in American golf history," Trostel said. "As a 20-year-old amateur he got golf on the front pages of newspapers for the first time. That was the jumping off point for golf in the U.S."

The book contains five chapters (Defining Moments, Perseverance, Underdogs, Comebacks and Dominance) featuring 27 stories and five essays. "The hardest part was picking which [Opens] we should write about," Trostel said. "We decided to organize it into five themes."

The essays include Mike Davis (USGA executive director) writing on U.S. Open courses, Rand Jerris (USGA senior managing director for public services) on the first U.S. Open, David Schefter (USGA senior staff writer) on runners-up, Lewine Mair (British golf writer) on how the game became a global one, and Rhonda Glenn (former USGA communications director) on Ouimet.

The photographs were culled from the USGA's collection of 700,000 of them. The cover shows Tiger Woods looking to the sky after holing a 12-foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole of the 2008 Open at Torrey Pines to tie Rocco Mediate, whom he defeated in a playoff the following day.

"That is such a great photograph and a great moment," Trostel said. "The whole place was absolutely electric. What you see is raw emotion both from Tiger and the crowd. We didn't want to use just a single shot. We wanted to show golf's grand stage. In that photo there are volunteers, fans, players, the course, everything that makes the U.S. Open."

The 216-page volume is available at the Publications Store on the USGA website and at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

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By John Strege

Light is the operative word for those who don't ride around golf courses. Sun Mountain has accomplished that with its new Micro-Cart Sport, a four-wheel push cart that weighs in at 13 pounds.

Small is the operative word when you've got to store a push cart in the trunk. Sun Mountain has addressed that, too. The Micro-Cart Sport folds down to 52 cubic inches.

The Micro-Cart Sport used to be a three-wheeler, but the fourth wheel lowers the center of gravity and adds stability when pushing it across side hills. The front axle adjusts to accommodate larger golf bags.

Only two motions are required to unfold the Micro-Cart Sports. It has what it calls an E-Z Latch to simply adjust the height of the handle, a Micro Paq for additional storage, and a padded valuables tray.

It is available in four colors: lime, pink, red and yellow. Its retail price is $189.

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By John Strege

The company that launched the hybrid golf shoe revolution with Fred Couples wearing Ecco Street Premiere shoes at the 2010 Masters continues to take golf shoes to places they haven't been before.

Ecco's latest is a women's shoe, the Life Street Bootie, that it touts with this: "From runway to fairway to everyday: Inspired by the boulevards of the world's fashion capitals."

The Life Street Bootie features a TPU outsole with traction bars (producing "800 traction angles," the company says), to account for the golf part of the equation. The upper, meanwhile, is leather, while "a metallic finish allows for a fashionable look."

It is available in two colorways: moon rock/ginger/lion and white/white/steel. The retail price is $180.

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