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Callaway and Acushnet reach patent settlement

Friday, April 13, 2012 Comments

After more than six years, the protracted patent infringement lawsuit between Callaway Golf and Acushnet (parent company of Titleist), seems to have finally come to a conclusion.

According to the PRNewswire, Callaway and Acushnet jointly announced a settlement of all pending litigation and disputes, including those beyond the patents involved in the development of the Pro V1 family of golf balls. While details of the settlement are confidential, no money will be exchanged under the terms of the agreement, and each company will have specified rights to make ball and club products under patents owned by the other.

-- Derek Evers

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Trending: The real 'most used ball in golf'

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Comments

On the heels of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, we thought it would be fun to revisit a clip from another star-studded golf tournament.

Every year, the Mayacama Golf Club plays host to the Schulz Celebrity Golf Classic--a one-day celebrity golf tournament, dinner and auction to benefit the five select children's charities in Sonoma County that make up Sonoma County Children's Charities.

Named after Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and hosted by John O'Hurley--who you might remember as Seinfield's J. Peterman--the Classic has raised nearly $2 Million for the local charities, celebrating it's 10th anniversary in 2011. And like any well run organization, merchandising is key to spreading their mission statement. So Mr. Hurley, along with some of his familiar friends put together this pitch video to help sell their signature line of golf balls; Range'.

While Titleist may be the number one ball on tour, Range' is clearly the most used ball by players of all abilities. And now you can purchase a sleeve for the very reasonable price of $3.99 (all proceeds go to the Sonoma Children's Charities). But don't take our word for it, hear it from the host himself.

The 2012 Schulz Celebrity Golf Classic will take place June 5. Visit their website for more information.

-- Derek Evers

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Golf World Monday: Long putter demand is soaring

Monday, October 17, 2011 Comments
From the Oct. 17 issue of Golf World Monday:

Last week TaylorMade announced it was tripling its fourth-quarter forecast for long and belly putters to meet the increasing demand by consumers and, therefore, its retail partners.

Owing in large part to the success of belly and long putters on the PGA Tour -- most notably at the PGA Championship by Keegan Bradley -- the demand for these putters has reached levels usually reserved for hybrid cars during an energy crisis.

Keegan_bradley_470.jpg
Bradley's win in the PGA Championship was the first major win by a player using a long putter. Photo by Getty Images

In short, there is a feeding frenzy. TaylorMade says it will sell five times as many long/belly putters as it did last year while other manufacturers such as Cleveland and Odyssey also have significantly ramped up production as large retailers are now ordering bellies and broomsticks by the thousands instead of a few at a time. "It might be the hottest topic on our store's floor," said Leigh Bader, co-owner of Joe & Leigh's Discount Golf Pro Shop in South Easton, Mass.

"Manufacturers were caught short in supply, but who knew?" Bader said the trend shows strong signs of sustaining its momentum, aided greatly by the fact these putters are now seen as a legitimate means of improvement as opposed to an act of desperation. "Because of that it's verging, if not already registering, on the coolness scale," said Bader. Because of that, demand is far outpacing supply at the moment. In other words, if you're looking for one, good luck.

-- E. Michael Johnson
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Mickelson makes switch to long putter official

Friday, September 2, 2011 Comments

NORTON, Mass. -- Keegan Bradley gives a lot of the credit for his PGA Championship victory to Phil Mickelson and if Lefty should one day add to his total of four majors, he may have to return the compliment to Keegan. Mickelson mentored Bradley about how to handle life on the PGA Tour and now Keegan is tutoring Phil on the art of the long putter.

Mickelson teed off in his first competitive round with the Odyssey Sabertooth 46 1/2 inch putter in his bag Friday as the Deutsche Bank Championship began at TPC Boston. And the switch had its roots in a conversation Mickelson had with Bradley, a discussion that remains ongoing.

"I played with Keegan Bradley and I asked him a bunch of questions and ended up having Odyssey make up an exact replica of the putter he has," Mickelson said. The only difference between the clubs is the insert. "I got it on Monday and I've been talking to him on the phone a little bit, little tidbits on ball position, setup and so forth."

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Phil on using a long putter: "I wouldn't rule it out"

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 Comments

The last three PGA Tour events have been won by players wielding long putters, most notably Keegan Bradley's victory at the PGA Championship -- which was as much of a breakthrough for the young pro as it was for extended flatsticks. It doesn't appear that Phil Mickelson will try to add to that streak this week at the Barclays, but that doesn't mean the four-time major champion won't ever make the switch.

"I wouldn't rule it out," Mickelson said in his pre-tournament press conference. "But I think there are certain things technique wise that you have to understand to do it well, to putt well with it. It swings differently than a normal putter in your hands, and so I don't know those little idiosyncrasies, those little secrets, if you will. And so I don't really putt very effectively with it."

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He didn't add the word "yet," but clearly it's been something on Mickelson's mind.

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Co-stars in the McIlroy wrist drama: a damaged 7-iron, and a new one

Friday, August 12, 2011 Comments
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -- One of the overlooked aspects of the will he play/won't he play drama involving Rory McIlroy this morning was the fact he destroyed his 7-iron hitting the shot off the root on Atlanta AC's third hole yesterday that injured his right arm and wrist. Fortunately for McIlroy, his equipment sponsor, Titleist, was on top of things. With tour vans required to leave the premises by Wednesday evening, the company made McIlroy a new 7-iron to his specs at their Oceanside, Calif., facility and had the club flown overnight to Atlanta. The 7-iron was waiting for McIlroy when he arrived at Atlanta AC, having been placed in McIlroy's locker at 7:25 this morning.
 
blog_rory_iron_0812.jpgPhoto by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Broken clubs are nothing new in professional golf, which is why Rule 4-3 is in the Rules of Golf. In fact, according to that rule, McIlroy could have replaced his club during yesterday's round had one been available. The rule says, in essence, that if a club is damaged during the normal course of play, a player may have it repaired or replace the club with any club, provided it does not come from any other person playing the course and does not unduly delay play.

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"A long putter won't win this week."

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 Comments
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Is it possible Tim Tebow has a 141-mph swing speed?

Thursday, June 9, 2011 Comments

I suggested this morning that Tim Tebow might be lying. Or at least misinformed. Or confused.

tim_tebow_golf_blog.jpgNow before Gator Nation starts burning me in effigy, or maybe literally setting me on fire, let me explain. A report this morning on a USA Today blog suggested that Tebow's golf swing "has been clocked at 141 mph." The story focused on an arresting photograph of Tebow mid-downswing, biceps flexing, triceps flaring and driver shaft bowing as if it were being wielded by Thor, God of Thunder.

(Related: A frame-by-frame look at the swing of long drive teen phenom Dominic Mazza)

Certainly, anything is possible with exceptional athletes, and golf, despite the emergence of more athleticism in recent years is not so physically demanding an activity that a finely tuned physical specimen such as the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Tebow might not experience some level of excellence that goes beyond what we see from mere mortals. But I decided to poll my own little equipment universe, including many fitters in our list of America's 100 Best Clubfitters.

First, some perspective. A swing speed of 141 mph would be more than 28 miles per hour faster than the current PGA Tour swing speed average (112.64), as measured by the TrackMan launch monitor at PGA Tour events. It would be 16 mph faster than the leader in swing speed average, J.B. Holmes (125.12). It would be 14 mph faster than the fastest speed recorded by Bubba Watson this year (127.02). It also would be the equivalent of the average swing speed recorded by the eight finalists in the 2009 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships (141), but two miles per hour slower than the speed of the finalists recorded at the 2010 RE/MAX WLDC (143).

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GW Monday: Equipment sales on the rise

Monday, May 2, 2011 Comments

From the May 2 edition of Golf World Monday:

For 24 months the numbers were grim. In 2009 sales of new golf equipment suffered double-digit losses almost across the board according to golf-retail tracking firm Golf Datatech. In terms of dollar sales, woods were down 14.3 percent and irons were off 16.2 percent compared to 2008 figures.

The following year wood sales fell another 6.6 percent, while iron sales were flat. The first three months of 2011, however, have seen golfers reaching for their wallets with a surprising -- and, for the industry, most welcomed -- frequency.

According to Golf Datatech, the first quarter of 2011 saw wood sales rise 22.2 percent, while irons posted a 16.6-percent gain. Why the boost? For starters there has been new equipment to get excited about, such as TaylorMade's R11 driver and Callaway's RAZR X irons.

Then there is the most salient reason of all: Golfers like their toys and don't like to go without new ones for very long.

-- E. Michael Johnson

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Late equipment changes common at Augusta

Thursday, April 7, 2011 Comments
AUGUSTA, Ga, -- As the Masters gets underway, you would think a major championship is the last place a player should be tinkering with their equipment. But just as players get a more-focused game face for the Masters, they also tend to take a harder look at their bats and balls, making absolutely sure they have the 14 clubs they want in the bag and that they all are in perfect working order.

For Phil Mickelson that not only means two drivers, but having the second one tweaked from 5.9 degrees of loft to 6.3 degrees on Tuesday. For Jim Furyk it means having a left shoe with plastic cleats and the right one with metal spikes because of problems with his right foot slipping.

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