By John Strege

The hybrid revolution in golf shoes has now spread to running with True linkswear's introduction on Thursday of the sensei.

On Oct. 7, Ryan Moore won the PGA Tour's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open while wearing the sensei, while True co-founder Robb Rigg completed the Portland Marathon on the same day while wearing the sensei.

"As far as I can tell, I was the only person running in golf shoes at the marathon," Rigg said in a news release. No doubt.

True is committed to constructing its shoes on what is called a barefoot platform that evolved in the wake of the barefoot running phenomenon. It allows the foot to move naturally during the golf swing, or for running for that matter. It claims the thinnest sole in golf shoes at 2.5 millimeters.

The True sensei will be available at select retailers on Thursday, at a price of $99.

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By John Strege

It is a given that too little attention is paid to grips (have you re-gripped your clubs lately?), but the least we ought to do is keep them clean. There is a reason tour players or their caddies are frequently seen wiping a grip before the shot is played.

Grip manufacturer Lamkin has addressed the issue with its introduction of Gripes, grip cleaning wipes that come 15 to a package, each wipe capable of cleaning up to five grips. Gripes work on all rubber and synthetic rubber grips and cost $5.99.

"I've been talking about the benefits of proper grip cleaning and maintenance for years, but the subject became much more relevant with the widespread acceptance and use of white and color golf grips," Bob Lamkin, president and CEO of Lamkin, said in a news release. "Other than keeping your grips looking great, regular cleaning actually reactivates surface tack and enhances the overall durability of the grip."

The days when grips virtually were exclusively black are over. Lamkin's own 3GEN grip comes in 10 colors.

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By John Strege

An endorsement from renowned instructor Jimmy Ballard, who invokes Ben Hogan and his seminal book, "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf," to explain the endorsement suggests that the Golf Swing Shirt might be a training aid worth investigation.

In essence both arms fit into a single sleeve of the Golf Swing Shirt to keep the elbows connected and close to the body.

"You're always looking to teach feel, to find something someone can feel," Ballard said. "You remember in Hogan's 'Five Lessons,' when he tied the elbows down? That's what this shirt does. It gives you the same sensation. You feel the elbows more down and together. It doesn't let your arms run away from you. It pulls your arms in, which is the feeling you want.

"Hogan was always talking about keeping the elbows on the body and then just moving to right and moving to the left. That's what the shirt does. It teaches that triangle. I'm not going to start any juniors any more without putting this on them."

Ray Rapcavage, founder of the Golf Swing Shirt, came upon the idea by accident. A low handicapper, he went into his yard to hit some lob wedges one day and shanked three in a row, he said, the last shot hitting his house. "It felt like everything was out of sync," he said.

So he took his sweater off, put both arms in a single sleeve, "almost like a strait jacket," and began hitting lob wedge shots, "20 perfect shots in a row, each time the same exact result. Everything was operating as one unit."

He decided to design a one-sleeved shirt for his personal use, then introduced it to friends. "Almost every person who put this on hit the ball exponentially better," Rapcavage said. Before deciding to go into business with this product, he sought the opinion of an expert and began hectoring Ballard for his evaluation. Ballard agreed to meet with him, though he was skeptical.

"I've been in this business 52 years," he said. "I've seen everything. I'd never seen anything I liked. I liked this right away and told Ray that. This lets you feel that triangle in both directions. It's so easy."

The Golf Swing Shirt can be purchased through its website for $59.95 and is available in orange, black or white. It also is available at various pro shops.

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By John Strege

It is the time of year when outerwear moves to the fore of a golfer's wardrobe, and accordingly Sun Mountain has expanded its Headwind collection of windshirts to include a short-sleeve version (shown above).

The Headwind is a pullover jacket made of a wind-proof microfiber fabric. For good measure, it is treated with a durable water repellent coating and features in the shoulder and back area a flexible insert made of Sun Mountain's Rainflex fabric that is both water restistant and breathable. The Headwind won't replace a rain suit, but it will suffice in a drizzle or otherwise misty conditions.

The Headwind short sleeve retails for $69, the long sleeve $89. A women's Headwind also is available at $79.

Another addition to the line is the Headwind Solo ($59) that does not feature the Rainflex insert.

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By John Strege

For those who live in parts of the country that require they play in cold, wet conditions through the winter, Mobile Warming Gear is here to help. It has introduced a collection of waterproof, heated outerwear designed for golf.

The jackets are made of a lightweight, breathable, waterproof fabric and feature a rechargable 7.4-volt lithium battery, "about half the size of a cell phone," Keith Apple, general manager golf for Mobile Warming Gear said. The battery pack can be adjusted from 90 degrees to 130 degrees. At the lower setting, the battery will last 10 hours before it requires re-charging.

The idea for the jacket came from Apple's son-in-law Joe Lusardi, an assistant pro at Locust Hill Country Club outside Rochester, N.Y.

"When I started working for this company that made heated jackets, I was in the ski industry," Apple said. "I was giving my son-in-law heated vests made for skiing. He said, 'this may work in golf.' I said, 'what would I have to do?'"

Lusardi and a few friends suggested lowering the collar and using lightweight-material stretch panels under the arm pits. The jacket has received approval from the USGA.

"The jacket is totally breathable," Apple said, "and the membrane is similar to Gore-Tex. It's 100 percent waterproof and has a waterproof zipper."

It comes in men's and women's styles, $200 for the jacket, $160 for a vest.

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By John Strege

Ecco, the Danish shoemaker at the fore of the hybrid golf shoe revolution, is expanding its line to include classic designs --including the wingtips shown above --that it calls the Tour Hybrid.

Here's how the company describes the hybrid function of the shoe: "Seamlessly transitions from the boardroom to the car to the country club."

The Tour Hybrid, which will have an MSRP of $190, will be offered in three leather upper patterns in a variety of colors and feature its Street outsole with 100 traction bars.

The Tour Hybrid will be worn by tour players Graeme McDowell and Fred Couples, among others, the company said. Couples was instrumental in the hybrid revolution by wearing the Ecco Street Premiere shoes (sans socks) at the Masters in 2010.

The Tour Hybrid will begin shipping to retailers later this year.

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By John Strege

Loudmouth Golf continues to expand its colorful (to put it midly) line of apparel and is now offering windshirts with familiar color schemes, including the windshirt shown above in Captain Thunderbolt ($75 for the longsleeve half zip, $65 for the half-zip vest).

"They are versatile and can be paired with your Loudmouth Golf pants, a solid golf pant, or your favorite pair of jeans," Loudmouth Golf CEO Larry Jackson said in a news release. "They are a must-have staple in all Loudmouth closets."

Things we'd like to see: Loudmouth Golf spokesman John Daly pairing the Captain Thunderbolt windshirt with Captain Thunderbolt pants.

Loudmouth Golf is offering the windshirts in 20 different designs and four styles, the latter including V-Neck longsleeve or vest and the aforementioned half-zip longsleeve or vest.

They are available at the Loudmouth Golf website.

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By John Strege

Lightweight is the objective in carry bags (and even cart bags), but how light is too light? "There's a danger zone that if you go too light it starts falling apart," said Tom Glocke, global vice president of Ogio.

Ogio has just introduced its Endurance Lightweight Collection -- four men's, two women's cart and carry bags -- that reached for the optimum combination of lightweight and durable. The Nebula (shown above), for instance, weighs in at a scant 3.8 pounds, even with a 10-inch top.

"We really try to walk the line between still being very quality and lightweight," Gocke said. "It's become an art figuring out how to build lightweight without giving up tensile strength. We went to nylon instead of a poly for these bags, and what we found is the strength and durability per weight is excellent on this material. It's actually the same material they use for making parachutes. We figure that if people stake their life on materials not tearing we're probably OK getting away with it on a golf bag."

Ogio also upgraded its threads to nylon, "out of what I would call the YKK of threads," Gocke said. "The best." YKK is the largest and most prominent zipper manufacturer in the world. "When you go to these light weights, you want to make sure you get thinning and high tensile strength materials that won't break at the seams."

The Nebula features eight zippered pockets, one of mesh, a feature of all the bags in the collection. The cart bags weigh in under five pounds, while the carry bags go as low as 3.6 pounds.

The collection, which ranges in price from $150 to $200, can be seen here.

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