Danish shoe manufacturer Ecco has taken its popular Golf Street Premier and applied it to the junior golf market with the introduction of the Golf Street Junior line of hybrid golf/street shoes.
The Golf Street Junior line, for boys and girls, comes in lime green, fanta orange, royal blue, purple or candy outsoles and feature the same ribbed traction elements on the soles that come on the Golf Street Premier line worn by Fred Couples, among others.
Expresso Satellite Navigation has taken its GPS expertise and applied it to a rangefinder that provides yardages at your fingertips, or near them at least. It has introduced the WR62, a watch-like device worn on your wrist.
It isn't the first to do so. Garmin has its Approach S1. But the ESN WR62 advances the technology to include distances to hazards and bunkers in addition to yardages to the front, center and back of greens, and includes a function that will measure shot distance, too.
It comes pre-loaded with U.S. courses that the device automatically recognizes, and there is no fee beyond the purchase price of $179.99.
It is more than a rangefinder, however. It also has an odometer app to track running or walking distances, as well as a stopwatch, an alarm and a clock.
ESN is "the world's first maker of portable GPS Navigation devices created specifically for the 'active lifestyle' consumer,'" the company says.
SKLZ calls itself "the premier developer and marketer of athletic performance and skill development training products for serious athletes of all ages." A cursory check of its website would make it tough to argue otherwise.
Among the sports to which it caters (beyond the obvious: football, basketball and baseball) are lacrosse, volleyball, and fast-pitch softball. There also is golf, a category that continues to grow.
SKLZ's latest golf offerings are the TrainerMat (shown above) and TrainerBall, each of which has golf-specific exercises printed on them.
The 24 exercises printed on the mat address core stability and torque. The 16 exercises printed on the stability ball are designed to optimize core strength and flexibility.
Each has a suggested retail price of $29.99. A hand pump is included in the cost of the stability ball.
When the brands Apple and Microsoft are invoked, it tends to get one's attention, as it has in the case of GolfSense, a 3D swing analysis device that attaches to a golfer's glove and provides instant feedback to an iPhone or iPad.
GolfSense is the brainchild of Robin Han, who once worked on software and sensors for Microsoft Research Asia and has a PhD in aeronautics and astronautics from Bejing University. The device, which retails for $129.99, is now available at all Apple stores in the U.S. and Canada.
The information it provides includes clubhead speed, estimated carry distance, swing path, swing plane, tempo and even tips on how to fix what might be wrong with your swing.
"We've been working with a couple different professionals, one of them Brett Taylor in the Sacramento area," said Jason Fass, CEO of the company. "We view our role in this relationship as providing you with the data and high-level tips: 'We notice this, you should look at the following things.'"
The device weighs only 17 grams and attaches to the back of the golf glove. It is equipped with four motion sensors that relay information via a bluetooth connection to an iPhone or iPad that has the free app installed on it.
William (Bill) Powell's story is an inspiring one, to be sure: The grandson of slaves who was raised in Minerva, Ohio, and found it difficult to pursue his love of golf because of discrimination. It prompted him to build his own golf course, Clearview Golf Club, which opened in 1948 in East Canton, Ohio, the only course designed, built, owned and operated by an African-American.
Now his story is told in a children's book, "Twice as Good," written by an award-winning children's book author Richard Michelson and illustrated by Eric Velasquez. The title is derived from a lesson taught him in childhood, that "if you are going to get ahead in this world, you can't be as good as the white children, you have to be twice as good."
The video above explains how the book came about and opens with a quote from President Obama: "Overcoming adversity, Bill has written his own chapter in our nation's history...and set an important example for succeeding generations." Clearview Golf Club has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The book can be ordered here at the Clearview Golf Club's website, proceeds to benefit the Clearview Legacy Foundation, which was established in 2001 to "preserve the course for future generations, to develop improved facilities for teaching the game of golf, and to expand turfgrass research."
Far more often than not, golf is not the good walk spoiled that Mark Twain suggested it was. Most people ride. Lamentably, the cart is the preferred mode of golf course transportation these days.
BagBoy, in its perpetual quest -- as a push or pull cart specialist -- to reverse the trend, has introduced a compromise to the driven cart, a "healthier alternative," it calls it. It is the Navigator Elite, an electric walking cart.
It features a lightweight (seven pounds) lithium ion 24-volt battery, a gyroscopic navigation system that keeps the cart moving in a straight line, regardless of the slope of the terrain, and a directional remote control (forward, left, right and reverse) with nine speeds. It also comes with a padded seat that can be removed.
The cart folds up quickly and easily to a compact, 35-inch by 24-inch by 14-inch package. Some will deem it cost-prohibitive at $2,295.95, but avoiding cart fees will help defray the cost, while the health benefits are incalcuable.
Miura Golf is a small, but distinguished company known for the quality of its forged irons. Not as well known is that it has a full line of equipment, which includes its newest driver offering, the SIT-460, that it calls "the most compact 460cc [driver] in golf."
So how can a 460cc driver be anything but a 460cc driver, or more to the point, how can it be considered compact? The answer is with its shaping.
The SIT (which stands for Strong & Ideal Trajectory) has a tall face, increasing the volume verticically, rather than horizontally, giving it the appearance at address of a compact design, the company said.
It is an all-titanium head, cast in two pieces (the face is laser welded to the body), and is available in either 9 or 10.5 degrees (right-hand only). The clubhead weighs 196 grams, four grams fewer than Miura's Precious driver, which is 390cc.
The suggested retail price is $595 (though the price will vary depending on shaft option).
IJP Design, Ian Poulter's apparel brand, is among those companies with limited-edition offerings coinciding with golf's major championships. For its part, IJP has introduced a putter cover it calls "The First Major," the first in a series of four. Only 750 of the putter covers, each including an individually signed and numbered silver tag, will be offered and can be purchased at ijpdesign.com for $70. Included is a protective tote bag, also shown.
The putter covers feature postal graphics to tie in with a nickname that Poulter recently acquired, "The Postman."
Meanwhile, the apparel that Poulter will wear over each of the four rounds of the Masters (assuming he makes the cut) are shown in this GolfDigest.com slideshow that features the Masters wardrobes of several players.
The Masters iPad app is back, this time for free. A year ago it was $1.99 and was a bargain then, more so now.
It seems to offer the same features as a year ago, including live video streams from the Par-3 Contest, from Amen Corner, from holes 15 and 16, and two featured groups (back nine only). Moreover, it will offer a live simulcast of CBS' weekend coverage, for those without access to a television.
It also offers a variety of videos, including media center interviews -- Rory McIlroy's interview Tuesday morning, complete with his cell phone ringing ("sorry, no phones at Augusta," he said sheepishly"), is currently available.
Fred Couples created a stir, indeed, helped launch a revolution, at the 2010 Masters when he wore Ecco Street Premiere shoes, sans socks. Hybrid golf shoes since have become popular across a variety of brands.
At this year's Masters, Couples will sport a pair of limited-edition Ecco BIOM Hybrid shoes featuring green highlights.
The company will only offer 100 pairs. They will be available the week of April 8 at eccousa.com andgolfsmith.com. The shoes retail for $190.
