By John Strege

The growing motion sensor segment in golf heretofore has focused virtually entirely on the full swing, but 3Bays, which itself began with a full-swing motion sensor, has now applied its technology to analysis of the putting stroke.

The 3BaysGSA Putt device weighs a third of an ounce and plugs into the grip end of your putter. Via a Bluetooth connection to an app on a smartphone or iPad, it relays information about your putting stroke. It tracks face angle, consistency, attack angle, tempo, backswing time, downswing time, impact speed and swingpath distance.

It will instantly show an animation playback of your path in both side view and top view, to see how the putter is moving throughout your stroke.

The 3BayGSA Putt sells for $200 and can be purchased through the company website.

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By John Strege

Statistical data conceivably could help anyone improve their golf, but taking the time and trouble to gather it is problematic. Until now.

A software engineer from Ireland, John McGuire, CEO of Active Mind Technology, has developed a system by which the data is collected for you.

Game Golf comes with 18 club tags (see photo above), one for each of your 14 clubs and four extras for additional clubs, that pop into the grip end of the clubs. A sensor that features GPS, a compass, accelerometer and a gyrometer clips to your belt and records all manner of data, which after a round is sent via a Bluetooth connection to Game Golf servers and can be viewed on computers, iPhones or iPads.

"A good analogy would be ShotLink," McGuire said, referring to the PGA Tour data collection system. "It's easy to use, very intuitive. The data is very clean, simple. You see each club you use, the distances you hit them. I don't want people putting in information, I want information to come from the game.

"We can generate all the stats for you -- fairways hit, greens in regulation, number of putts, scrambling, without you having to put in that information. You go play your round of golf and we do the rest. We're showing you your round of golf, the course you played, where you took your shots from. Then based on your last five games, based on your distances, your course management, we recommend ways to improve."

Game Golf's team is impressive. The device was designed by Yves Behar, better known as the chief creative officer for Jawbone and its popular Jambox compact wireless Bluetooth speakers. Golfers Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood also have a stake in the company and have been testing the product and providing feedback to Game Golf's research and development team.

"For it to be useful, it has to be simple to use and it has to be very visual," McGuire said. "The way you present the data has to be simple."

The device will retail for $249, though early adopters can buy in now for $189, McGuire said.

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By John Strege

Tiger Woods' resurgence with the Masters on the horizon again brings Jack Nicklaus' 18 major championship victories into focus, the perfect time to introduce a portfolio of paintings showcasing each of them.

Renowned golf artist Walt Spitzmiller has painted a scene from each of Nicklaus' 18 majors, including the painting shown above, featuring Nicklaus famously hitting a 1-iron that hit the flagstick and stopped six inches from the cup at the 17th hole at Pebble Beach in the final round of the U.S. Open in 1972.

The limited-edition fine art portfolio book, called "Jack's Majors," features 18 giclee art prints, each 18 inches by 24 inches, with accompanying text by Don Wade.

Only 100 editions will be made available, each numbered and signed by Nicklaus and Spitzmiller. Numbers one through 18 will sell for $7,500, with numbers 19 through 100 selling for $5,000.

Email info@jacksmajors.com for information on obtaining one.

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By John Strege

Can it be this easy, to eliminate or lessen aches and pains with an all-natural roll-on? Yes, it can, according to those at Golf Pain Away.

An Australian, Ralph Linford, developed the product, which is marketed there under the brand name Elmore Oil. "It's one of the leading brands of all pain relievers in Australia," said Gary Sheppard, Golf Pain Away's new CEO.

The company was looking for a way to introduce it in the U.S. and determined that golf provided the best avenue. "We're developing a category of golf that's never been done," Sheppard said. "Millions of golfers suffer from some sort of ache and pain and no one had addressed that concern. No one was doing anything in pain relief."

Golf Pain Away contains olive, tea tree and eucalyptus oils and vanilla that is blended and allowed to mature. It is said to act as a natural circulatory stimulus that delivers pain relief equal to that of prescription products and will do so with arthritis, hip, back, neck and other joint pain.

"Roll it on and it takes about five to 10 minutes and will work for up to six hours," Sheppard said. "There's no limit to how often you can use it. You can use it repeatedly without any side effects."

Nick Price is a brand ambassador who discovered the product through a friend familiar with it. "Nick has chronic back issues. He said it alleviated his back pain and he wanted to get involved with the company," Sheppard said.

The product is available at all Golf Galaxy stores and will soon be available through Amazon.com. PGA Superstores also is interested in stocking it, Sheppard said. It is available as well on the website at $40 for a twin pack.

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By John Strege

It is hard to argue that morning new on a freshly-cut golf course helps awaken the senses, including the sense of smell. An Italian businessman, Paolo Risso, was so smitten with the fragrances that he developed Birdie, a men's cologne designed to replicate "golf course fragrances," he wrote in an email.

The idea came to Risso, president of Rapallo Golf Club in Genoa, Italy, and CEO of the shipping agency Cambiaso & Risso, while playing golf in the south of France, "looking at greens full of dew and breathing fresh air and morning forest perfume such as lavander," he wrote. He said he wanted to experience those scents every morning, so he launched Paul Rice & Co. and its Birdie eau de toilette, as well as Birdie shampoo.

Here is how the website describes the fragrance: "A fresh and delicate fragrance that expresses the notes of watery greens in the early morning. After a moment a new note of freshness evokes the elegance and classic sports of starched polo worn by golfers."

The Paul Rice products are available in golf clubs and other shops in Italy and Monaco and will soon be launched in the U.S., Risso said. In the meantime, they are available via the website, www.paulrice.it. The cost is around $58 for the eau de toilette and $20 for the shampoo.

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By John Strege

This is the time of year when products turn green in anticipation of the Masters, as shown here in Golf Digest Stix.

Add to that Kentwool's limited-edition Tour Profile Augusta Sock ($19.95 a pair), featuring the company's proprietary blend of merino wool, said by the company to help reduce fatigue, and high-tech fibers to assist with moisture management.

The Augusta Sock, which debuted last spring at this time and sold out, will be available through May 15, while supplies last.

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By John Strege

Carl Papa is a retired federal parole officer, whose passion for golf was tempered by his inability to consistently get his weight to his left side. To help with this swing fault, he invented a device, the Pin High Pro, to help.

Now he has simplified it, with his introduction of the Pocket Pin High Pro, a device 4 1/4-inches in diameter and requiring no batteries to operate. Simply place it on the ground and step on it with the outside of your front foot. The device clicks when your weight has shifted to your front foot.

"It started because of my inability to get to the left side consistently," Papa said. "I was getting frustrated. I was at the driving range with a friend, and he said, 'Carl, you're hitting the ball OK some of the time, but you're not getting weight to the front foot consistently.' So many golfers have trouble shifting weight to the front foot."

The Pocket Pin High Pro features a spring, that "when you get about 30, 35 pounds on your front foot it clicks," he said. He has eight teaching professionals in the Knoxville, Tenn., area using it for those struggling with the weight shift.

It is available through his website for $24.95.

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By John Strege

TRUE linkswear has brought its barefoot platform to a largely ignored market, kids' golf shoes, with the introduction of the TRUE padwan.

The offspring of the TRUE sensei and TRUE jade golf shoes for men and women, the TRUE padwan is a hybrid shoe that the company touts for activities from golf to running, walking and playing. It has a rubber outsole with traction enhancements and a lightweight, breathable synthetic upper.

It comes in sizes 1 through 7 (including half sizes) and two color options -- black/charcoal and charcoal/grey. They retail for $59.99.

TRUE linkswear's heritage is a shoe that attempts to replicate the natural movements of the foot, as though walking barefoot. Ryan Moore wears TRUE linkswear footwear on the PGA Tour.

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By John Strege

Have you ever wondered what a $320 golf polo shirt looks like? Neither have I. Nonetheless, there it is, shown above. It seems to resemble an $80 polo or a $60 polo, though it is custom made.

Treccani Milano, an Italian fashion concern boosted by what company founder Emanuele Bonasia called "overwhelmingly positive response to our custom golf shoes and custom golf leather bags," decided to expand into the polo business. The cost of the golf shoes started at $1,020, while the leather bags started at $11,000 and went up to $38,000.

In other words, their products aren't for everyone.

The custom-made polos offer color choices and options that include "100% cotton piquet or stretch from a cotton mill in Switzerland, a choice of pocket, sleeve length, stitching colour and buttonhole colour. Other features include selecting the colour, shape and thickness of the mother of pearl button, as well as shirt monograms," a news release states.

Production of each shirt takes four weeks, the company said.

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