We've heard a bunch about Tiger's turned-back hat and menacing scowl on the January cover, so it's fair to print this letter from Dr. John Pate of Ontario:

I have just finished reading the article written by Jamie Diaz on Tiger Woods and his life changes in 2007.It may be the best work that I have read in Golf Digest in my 40 years of subscribing.The exploration of this young man's personal growth and his growing insight and understanding of himself provided for a wonderful look into a Tiger we don't see on television. Imagine, that Sunday scowl is really just his "poker face"- not so scary after all. In my game golf is a good walk , on good ground, with good friends and with a little sport. I know that tournament golf is very different - but this young man would be welcome in my group anytime , not because he is Tiger , but because of the man he is becoming. Thank you for doing such good work.

It's interesting that the cover, which drew considerable negative response--and some positive, too--is a home run on the newsstands. Our best January issue in a decade. Tiger continues to mesmerize. His performance at Torrey Pines last week and his 65 in Dubai today are the beginnings of what might be the career year. Nicke Faldo said "Tiger could--no, I'll take away the could--Tiger will win the Grand Slam this year." I think Jaime's story and Walter Iooss Jr.'s photos got closer to explaining why that's possible than anything done on Tiger to date.

--Bob Carney

Dean J. Toriello has an early Dean's report on the state of television coverage:

Now that the broadcast season has started I would like to make two pleas to the announcers that do such a fine job to enhance our enjoyment. These two issues have been bothering me for years. 1. I KNOW that I am watching golf! I would like to eliminate the frequent use of "golf" as an adjective. "That was some GOLF shot!" and countless similar statements drive me nuts! 2. I would like the use of the term"effort" eliminated from descriptions of bad shots--bad "golf " shots if you will--and bad putts. Each and every time a golfer misses a putt or hits a poor shot they always comment that "that wasn't his best effort." I would argue that these pros always give it their best "effort" but mis-read the green or simply just hit a bad shot!

Otherwise you're doing a fine job boys and girls!

I'm with you, Dean, especially on number one. Happens in other sports, too, but not so much, maybe because they move faster. You will not hear, for example, "Great FOOTBALL pass by Tom Brady" or "What a FOOTBALL punt by Jay Feagle!" No time. But you're right; we'll hear of many more fine or improving "golf swings", "golf shots", "golf holes", "golf games" and "golf clubs" in the coming (golf) season.

By the way, that was a fine golf letter you wrote, sir.

--Bob Carney

Lots of you are complaining about the price of equipment on the Golf Digest Hot List. (A number of you cited price in response to the Hot List article, which wondered why more amateurs don't upgrade. We made the point in response that trade-ins, easier than ever, helped bring down the price. Hold on, said Dr. Eric Addinall of Delaware:

As usual I studied this year's 'Hot List' with great interest. I noticed yet again however, the apparent surprise that more ordinary golfers don't change their clubs more regularly.

It occurs to me that one of the principal reasons is that if your clubs are over two years old, the trade-in value is almost negligible. I had a set of such clubs, wanted to buy one of the recommendations from last years list and was offered the princely sum of $40. I had paid around $700 for them 3 years ago. I still have them but hope to change this year if I'm offered anything at all!

This trade-in problem is worse even than for automobiles (and that is bad enough). Coupled with the fact that the mark- up on manufactured golf clubs is probably significantly higher than for cars, there is significant consumer suspicion around the idea that one must change clubs as often as urged by publications such as yours.

We just checked a couple of clubs from the 2006 Hot List, Cleveland CG4 irons and Callaway X-18 irons and the Cleveland’s were over $100 on the PGA Value Guide in the mid range and the Callaways were around $170. If you didn't use the Vale Guide, do.

Mike Johnson of Golf World, one of the Hot List judges, says "Most of us feel their clubs are worth more than they can actually get in trade. And in categories where the technology has seen a boost, the value of older clubs goes down." Check out Mike's trade-in story in the Jan. 18 issue of Golf World.

Leigh Bader, a leading retailer who consults on the Hot List, thinks you can do better than the offer you got. Leigh operates the online trade-in program for the PGA. He advises that you check the locator on PGA.com for stores near you that honor the PGA Value Guide. (He says there are a lots of them, and believes you'll do better than $40 at one of these. "The residual value of used clubs are higher and more available to more people now, more then ever! Something's amiss." That sounds promising. Love to hear back if you do better....

--Bob Carney

(Illustration by William Rieser)

PS: For another of those letters on equipment prices, continue on...

John Daly decries the new Tour policy of relieving some players who make the cut of their obligation to play over the weekend. Our readers are divided.

Count Texan Thomas McConnell as leaning "No."

To tell a player, who makes the cut, that they are not in the weekend field strikes me as a ridiculous policy. To deprive a player who makes the cut the opportunity to improve their position in the final two rounds will surely affect some players tour status and certainly their livelihood by year end. After all it is a four round tournament for those who qualify. It is surprising that the players, in unison, have not challenged this policy change.

Californian Eric Patterson, doesn't see it that way. He likes John Hawkins' take in the Angry Golfer:

One month into 2008, Daly has been making the worst kind of noise, whining about the PGA Tour's new cut policy, then threatening to sue the Honda Classic because some woman snapped a photo in his backswing last March, then withdrawing for the seventh time in 21 starts at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. If not for the sad death of caddie Steve Duplantis last week, Daly's out-of-control behavior at a Hope post-round party might have generated a lot more buzz on the Torrey Pines practice green.

Eric:

John was so right on the money, he should be commended. The Touring Pros today ae nothing more than Prima Donnas; if they find the new Cut Rule tough, then they need to work an evening shift at Denny’s…just like John said. Many of these players have never won anything, come from spoon-fed country club upbringings and have no right to complain. They need to try sitting in a cubicle at a low level, 9-5 Corporate America job and see how much financial pressure they have. Keep up the great work, John.

Personally, I like reader Al Jamieson's view of things:

The kerfuffle about the new cut rule is rooted in the Tour's unwillingness or inability to deal with the most pernicious problem in golf, slow play!  Slow play is a cancer on the game.  Please check, but I believe that one of Tiger's wins at San Diego was from the cut line.  Can't get 78 players around in the time allotted? Shame on you.  College players may be worse.  Only stroke penalties for the turtles will start to get their attention.

You have put your finger on the bane of all golfers' existences, Al. Plus, I love that word, kerfuffle.

--Bob Carney

The story on Tour drug testing by Ron Sirak in Golf World, along with player comments about the new policy, have prompted several letters, including this one from Oregonian Jon Anderson:

Paul Goydos should be the first PGA tour player tested for performance-enhancing drugs. His comment that "There's nothing out there that makes you make more putts" is a lame attempt at a smokescreen comment. If steroids help a baseball player hit the ball farther, they can help a golfer drive the ball farther. But perhaps Goydos is the only player out there who doesn't think driving distance matters. And, I wonder if he noticed some 'positive side effects' when he took them for his rib injury.

I'm with you, Jon. Steroids can help, and so can beta blockers and stimulants, too. I found it interesting this week that Major League Baseball was looking closely at medication "exemptions", which jumped in 2007, especially for Attention Deficit Disorder stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall. As one doctor put it in the Times, this is the way players can legally get "greenies"--amphetamines. Stimulants are on the Tour list.

Other readers, Dr. Michael Bartz, for one, wonder why "recreational" drugs ought to be included:

As the PGA is dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century world of drug testing, how hypocritical that it is going to include "recreational drugs' that are not performance enhancing (but, of course, not alcohol). What some professional golfer does in the privacy of his own home is none of my business, nor the PGA's.

Here's the Tour's response on that, from Deputy Commissioner Ty Votaw, also in the Golf World story:

"Drugs of abuse are illegal and have always been banned," he said. "Because addiction is an issue, we reserve the right to have rehabilitation as a punishment."

Meanwhile, the Commissioner has launched his own 2008 blog. Excerpt from the opening post:

The main topic that we will be discussing at our meetings at the Buick Invitational concerns our new anti-doping policy. While we continue to believe this really is not an issue on the PGA TOUR, unfortunately, the current state of the world necessitates any major professional sport to have such a policy. We will be educating our players on this policy and the prohibited substances weekly throughout the first half of this year and will begin drug testing some time in the second half of the year.

Given that a high percentage of players don't read Tour memoes--see confusion over Fed Ex Cup details--the Tour has to do this kind of education or risk serious embarrassment when the first round of testing occurs. What you don't know, in this case, can hurt a whole lot of folks.

--Bob Carney

You have responded, um, enthusiastically, to the Golf Digest U.S. Open Contest. At last count more than 53,000 of you have submitted essays arguing that you should be the average-golfer representative in the foursome that plays Torrey Pines a few days before the Open under the lights of NBC cameras.

The essays are funny, moving, inspiring and amazing. Some of them suggest that golf is, as my spouse has suggested, an illness. But most just indicate that you've fallen in love and you can't get out.

Every profession in the world is represented, from air traffic controller fighter pilot, opera singer to rock guitarist, gynecologist to Health and Human Services Secretary. Nearly every branch of the military service, the teaching profession, the entertainment field and medicine is here. Plus a lot of moms and dads. A sampling of recent entries:

Mercedes, from West Hartford, CT:

While I can blast the ball past the average guy, I’m not goofy enough to think that I’m Tiger or Lorena. The key: play smart. I played the day before my son was born (and having gained 62 lbs.!) and seriously considered playing between contractions the next day This is cake. My husband died five months later. Golf has been my salvation ever since. Playing in front of the world is nothing. What’s the worse that can happen? Even a bad shot can be the basis for a good story. I have many.

More...

We called it the "growing disconnect between golfers and golf-club technology. "Perhaps it's confusing," we said in the Golf Digest Hot List intro. "Perhaps it's distrust. Perhaps it's just ignorance..." that average golfers don't keep up with the technology that can help them. "If you haven't thought about upgrading your equpment in the last six months, let alone last six years, you have more than a little catching up to do."

Well, we caught it for that. Many letters, some posted here, reminded us that all that new technology is expensive. We hear you. All of you. Tom Holstein, though, had a different take:

You just don't get it.

Golf is a traditional country club sport like sailing in the Summer and skiing in the Winter. The goal is to do your person best against the natural conditions of the course, the mountain, and the wind.

Down deep inside, most "boomers" and "X ers" compete against their younger selves. Beyond a certain limit", they do not want to "cheat" by using an extreme "game improvement club" on "designer steroids" any more than they want to "buy" the love of a trophy mate. They would still rather earn it, up to a certain age. That is why Jack Nicklaus stopped using the over-sized "Response" putter after he won his last major in 1986. He wanted to know that it was the man, not the equipment.

This limit was probably reached about 10 years ago when drivers became grapefruit sized and the "COR" of titanium faces made the rebound effect greater than traditional persimmon and metal woods....

Club championships and amateur tournaments are different than weekend golf....The tournament goal is to beat your opponent, and you must use the best custom fit and technologically designed clubs to stay competitive.

Every year a group of us that competed for our college teams get together for a reunion at a destination golf resort. We each bring 2 sets of clubs. One set is from the 1980's, and one set is from today.

Sometimes we play with a 9 club limit to focus on shotmaking. Other times we play all old clubs or all new clubs. There is generally a three to five shot difference. The goal is to test our current personal skills against each other, and what we used to be. We want to make certain that it is the golfer, not the equipment that makes the difference.

Tom, I like the idea for two reasons. First, when the airlines lose one set, you've got a spare. Second, it's the ultimate reminder of how good we've got it when it comes to equipment. We do a similar event at our club. Man, it's a hard game with persimmon and balata.

--Bob Carney

A reader asks, "Will the editor post the testing results of all other clubs and balls that did not get a gold or silver rating in the 2008 Hot List?"

Golf Digest Equipment Editor Mike Stachura responds:

Just as we don't post the results for courses that do not make the grade in our ranking of the 100 Greatest Courses, we don't post results for products that are not elevated to Gold or Silver status on the Hot List. The Hot List is about singling out the most significant products, which is different than the idea of assigning a grade to every single product introduced in the last year. That said, we do have a scoring system and we can put our results in some kind of perspective. For instance among our 240 finalists (listed on our website), not one of these products received a final score of less than 70.56, and the average for those finishing last among finalists was 82.23.

What does that mean? Bottom line: The difference between making the list and not making the list is small, but in our minds, significant. Only products that demonstrated consistent excellence across multiple criteria ended up on the list. The list isn't about good products. There are loads of those. It's about exceptionally great products, and those are relatively few, less than 25 percent of the total of 552 products that made the Hot List.

--Bob Carney

Dave Defendis of Rochester, New York, loves the Hot List. He's just not buying the fact that golfers replace their equipment as often as we say they should.

Each year when Golf Digest's equipment issue arrives, I probably rip open its cellophane wrapping with the same anticipation that Ralphie opened up his "official Red Ryder carbine action, two hundred range model air rifle" on Chrsitmas morning in the movie A Christmas Story. And as I read through it, I probably have the same wide eyed look he had as he peered into the window of Higbee's Department Store to look at the "Red Ryder".

While I do like "digging the newest equipment", this "boomer" certainly has not replaced the clubs in his bag as often as your article indicates I probably should. One of the reasons could be that my discretionary spending account has been a bit low. Another reason could be that my kids keep presenting me with grandchildren. I always seem to be adding dollars to somebody's college account. And hey, whose grandchild doesn't look good in a new outfit. Or maybe it's because I believe that if I don't have "a real swing", the equipment can only help so much. My money might be better spent on some lessons before I buy some equipment. I guess me and people like me are a golf company's worse nightmare.

Dave, no man with grandchildren asking him what he wants for Christmas is a golf company's worst nightmare. Red Ryder is coming.

--Bob Carney

Guys, Changing the format is not working for me. I liked the old Bunker, hi-lited Internet, hi-lited Competition, where's The Through Line? Why did you change the Front 9? The magazine font is difficult to read - way too small. Light Colors for the various sections don't call out to me. If you don't go back to larger font I'll have to get New Reading Glasses....Bring back last year's model!!!

That's Golf World reader Greg Makowski of St. Mary's, Florida, and he's not alone...

Hey Guys: I could not agree more with Andrew Fesuk, mail letters Jan 18,2008 issue. I purchased some 2.75 readers and still had trouble with the small print and the white glare. And then the colored columns with light letters, give me a break. Change the print size back. Love Golf World……………….but! John Sutphen, The Villages

I don't like the new format AT ALL. The " front 9" uses an orange color text which is hard to read. The " lipouts" were always enjoyable- now gone? Your use of pale green , light blues for text/headlines is difficult to read- doesn't stand out like before. Can I have my previous, loved, and enjoyable publication back...PLEASE !!! Michael Vander Zwan

I've been a long time fan and subscriber to Golf World.... why then, do I now need to use a magnifying glass to read the new smaller font? Bad idea as far as I can see...no pun intended....Bill Krampe

Guys, er, Gentlemen: We hear you loud and clear. Though every re-design brings some complaint, this one has brought a large number of them. The editors and art director are looking for ways to adjust the redesign so that the magazine easier for you to read. Thanks for the input, as always.

--Bob Carney



It seems fitting, on this Martin Luther King Day, that we publish a few of the many letters we've received on the Kelly Tilghman affair.  To suggest that you're not in agreement on the matter is an understatement. To some of you it's just political correctness run amok. To others, a sober reminder of a vicious American past. These letters reflect that division. But before we get to the first, let me recommend a column by Michael Wilbon in the Washington Post. Michael hits it squarely on the head, as far as I'm concerned.

Many of you were sympathetic to those who applauded Tilghman's suspension and some of you to Pete McDaniel's column that demanded more. One was Robert Legg of Greensboro, Georgia:

Pete McDaniel asks us to let the word "lynch" linger in our minds and see the image it evokes. Having seen the Without Sanctuary exhibition I can tell you that it evokes far more than a poor soul hanging from a tree: The photographs of gleeful whites, men and women, looking on as though it was mere entertainment, are sickening. How blacks can view the same photographs without experiencing something close to uncontrollable rage is beyond me. And I am left with this question: is Kelly Tilghman simply ignorant or is she stupid? As McDaniel says, there is nothing remotely humorous about the word "lynch."

Many others were not. One, Earl Faulkner, Sr., contrasted the moving Golf World cover story on Bill Spiller, with what you saw as "political correctness" in the Tilghman affair:

On the one hand I finished reading Barkow's, "The Tragedy of Bill Spiller" with tears streaming down my face and on the other hand, frowning and grimacing as I struggled through McDaniel's, "Another Painful Lesson".

Al Barkow's cover story is so very appropriate, timely, and perfectly positioned for the progress America has made relative to race relations, while Mr. McDaniel seems bitterly absorbed in the ugliness of a past from which most of us have moved on.

Rather than drag society's progress backward a hundred years by agitating about lynchings, why can't Mr. McDaniel be encouraged to assume the attitude of Tiger Woods who chose to make little out of the comment by Kelly Tilghman.  Woods no doubt realized Ms. Tilghman has probably no intrinsic understanding of the "L" word; however, the same can not be said for Mr. McDaniel; that guy sounds as though it is still 1882.

And many of you were outraged that so much was made of Tilghman's comment.

MORE.....

 

Ed Lane of St. Louis has a very good question about this year's Hot List:

I usually put a lot of weight into your club rankings, which is why when I knew it was time to replace my relic 3- and 5-wood TaylorMade Burner fairway woods (I'm talking about the bronze looking ones), I decided to go with your 2007 Editor's Choice Fairway Wood, the Callaway Big Bertha.

However, I noticed your 2008 Hot List only gave the Callaway Big Bertha fairway wood a Silver rating. How is it that one year prior, you gave the same club not only a Gold rating, but an Editor's Choice rating, but this year a disappointing Silver rating? The analysis does not come across as very consistent or reliable. Curiously...

Mike Johnson, Golf World Equipment Editor and one of the Hot List judges, replies:

The name is the Hot List, not the Best List. A slight difference, to be sure, but fact is that the Hot List is more forward looking than looking at products in retrospect. Your Callaway Big Bertha fairway wood will hit the ball every bit as well as last year, but each of the Gold Medal winners in fairway woods this year did not appear on the Hot List last year. In short, the Big Bertha was up against very stiff competition from clubs offering fitting systems, more than one option in head designs or other technological improvements along with, in some instances, more buzz, including from its own sister Callaway X and Callaway FT fairway woods. It may not come across as such, but the difference between Gold and Silver is slight and the Bertha had the highest score among those clubs in the Silver category (which you could likely ascertain from the ratings of each of the five criteria). It may not appear consistent, but it’s important to remember that just because a club earned a gold medal last year that it will earn one the following year. The landscape changes from year to year, meaning a fluctuation in the scores of products from the previous year is highly likely.

--Bob Carney

Georgia reader Joseph Horton asks a great question about Golf Digest's February issue.

Why is the 2008 Hot List posted on the web site before subscribers get their issue? I participate in several golf forums and this has become a hot topic in itself. It would only seem right that subscribers that actually paid money would have the benefit of having your 2008 Hot List issue a few days in advance? I'm not against the information being on the web site at all, only that subscribers should receive some benefit from their loyalty in subsribing...

Actually, some subscribers did receive their issues before the Hot List went up on the web--a few. But for the most part, you're correct. The web story is published first. Here's why we do it this way: We feel it's important to alert manufacturers to their inclusion on the Hot List before their sales teams or customers see it in the magazine and contact them with questions. We send a few "first-bound" (uncorrected printer copies) early in the printing process. Once we do that, word gets out quickly. It's impossible to time this so that subscribers receive the issue, say, the next day. Postal delivery is not that precise. Some readers may receive the issue on the third of the month, some on the 12th. So we put the main part of the package--but not all of it--on the web, simultaneous to those early alerts.

We hope this process works for subscribers who get the basic information about the Hot List via the web early and then can find more Hot List information in the issue.

Finally, this helps us show off an issue we're extremely proud of, and perhaps generate a few more subscriptions.

--Bob Carney

I was searching for something to say about the Tilghman affair when I saw this post by reader Emily Brown of Sparta, MI, elsewhere on this blog. She responds to Pete McDaniel's piece in the new Golf World. Pete's piece, the accompanying piece by Bill Fields and Emily's letter are all worth a read. I excerpt here:

I cannot agree more with what he said. It seems that we forget our terrible past and tend to give a pass because "it is just a word". What is even worse than the incident is some of the blogs and things I have read in support of Kelly that say it wasn't a problem, nothing was wrong - why the fuss? Well they should read Pete's column. The very use of the word is a grave indication of at best a lack of racial sensitivity.

I am currently studying William Grant Still as I will be giving a recital this spring with the second half devoted to his work. He is considered to be a great American composer but because he was an African-American he did not receive a proper hearing. One of his works is "And they lynched him on a tree" for double chorus (one black, one white), narrator and orchestra. It is an amazing and disturbing work that tells of a lynching from the people closest to the incident - mother, townfolk,etc. A great recording of this is William Grant Still: Skyward My People Rose by Vocalessence Ensemble Singers. Golf Channel should be required to do a show featuring this or a similar work!

I emailed the Golf Channel and chastised them for their slow and inadequate response. I suggested that both Kelly and their management should receive racial sensitivity training. I just read a news note where they commented that their email was turning in favor of Kelly. I really feel that they just view this as a publicity problem and only gave the suspension because they had to. They are not truly remorseful. Their responses are inadequate and self-serving. They should do what I suggested plus plan a major series on the history of golf and racial discrimination - with the assistance of Pete.

Again, Pete has hit the nail on the head. Please tell Pete to keep his voice strong. The world needs the unvarnished truth!

Emily, thank you.  I happen to disagree that the Golf Channel sees this simply as a publicity problem or that Kelly does. I believe they take it very seriously.  But without arguing that, your suggestions at least take us beyond the "she should be fired because he was fired" level of debate and address the issue of changing behavior.

I'd recommend another exercise, one I happened on a long time ago in researching a history of Bessie Smith. Read through the Chicago Defender archives for stories on lynchings. They aren't hard to find, from the 1920s to the 1950s. They were, as Pete says, far more frequent and far more recent than most of like to believe.

---Bob Carney

We've been suprised at how many clergymen have entered our U.S. Open Contest, one suggesting that his congregation will pray for him to break 100. But we shouldn't be. I suspect there are many men of the cloth who are readers. Just today Rev. Daniel Knipper of Lansing, Iowa, wrote with a couple questions about the Hot List.

1) I come from Iowa and the winters here do not allow much play and I feel that selecting new clubs at this time of year might not be the best because I am rusty. Would it be better to wait a couple of weeks when the muscles are back in shape and really able to identify which are the best clubs? 2) Where do I find a pro who will fit me with different brands because that is the best for me instead of going with the whole line of one brand.

Good questions, Reverend. I think it depends. On No. 1, your approach makes sense, especially if you're planning to buy a whole set and don't have a heated range where you can keep those muscles in golf shape. If it's just a driver you're after and you have time to demo a few different ones indoors with a pro watching, that's a bit different. It's a little riskier than waiting to play a whole round with a demo club, but some of us can't wait. On No. 2, it should be easy to find a pro to fit you. In April, about the time Iowa begins its thaw, the PGA of America runs its Free Fitting & Trade Up program. Check for local pros who participate at PGA.com or check the list of pros participating in Free Lesson Month in Golf Digest (May issue)--we usually indicate those also participating in the free trade program. YOu'll also be interested in the PGA Value Guide, which will tell you how much you'll get for your old set.

--Bob Carney

Our suggestion in the February Hot List package that amateurs aren't upgrading equipment fast enough brought frank and candid (as they say in diplomatic circles) responses from several of you.

New Jerseyan Dominic Carapelli was one:

In talking about why so many amateur golfers do not keep up with the newest clubs, your theories are: 1) Confusion, 2) Distrust, and 3) Ignorance.  While I admit they all can be factors, the majority of "average golfers" can't afford to go out and buy the newest stuff every year, or every two years for that matter.  I love golf very much and I am a pretty decent player (12.8 index), but even I, let alone my girlfriend can't justify spending between $300-$500 every two or three years for a driver, $700-$1000 for irons, $150-250 per fairway wood, $80-$130 per wedge, and a $100-$300 putter.  Then add the cost of the $20-$50 a dozen balls, ever-inflating greens fees, shoes, gloves, clothes, etc., you're talking thousands of dollars over 2 or 3 years and that's if you play the same "out-dated" set. 

I love your magazine and will continue to read it every month, but I feel those statements are in very poor taste.  I make a decent salary and have a nice home but also like to get out and play golf at least once a week.  If I were to make sure every club in my bag was always custom-fitted, and had the newest clubs, I'd never be able to actually play....I'd only chip balls in my back yard.

Thanks for the letter, Dominic. FYI, Steve Boyd of Wheeling, W.V., shares your reaction.

I'm somewhat upset over the very subtle but definite insinuation in the Hot List article, pg 113 of February's magazine, that quote, "Too many average golfers must not believe golf equipment is getting any better. That helps explain why you would so often find outdated, overworn and ill-fitted clubs in nearly every bag." I can assure that I, and I believe most average golfers, are very aware of what new golf technology can do for our games. However, there's no way I can justify (especially to my wife) why I just spent a year's grocery money on a new set of clubs that I may use 25 to 50 times a year! On top of that there's no way I can justify the cost of these new clubs. I know the manufactures will claim that the cost helps with the research and development of new, even better, equipment, which for the record I'll never be able to afford. But when I look at the materials going into the making of, say, a new driver there's no way you can justify the price of $400.00 to $500.00. So I'll continue to use the clubs that I either purchased at a web site specializing in used clubs or that were greatly reduced as part of a closeout/reduction sale, and if that offends any one the next time they look in my bag, tough, but at least there's food on the table. Thanks for listening to my rant....

Thanks, gentlemen. You're right--and you're not ranting. The prices are daunting and we are not suggesting that you go broke playing golf. As a man who watched his wife pay $300 for a Ping G-10 "Christmas present", I feel your pain--well, our pain.

On the other hand, as you suggest, there are ways to alleviate the suffering. Trade-ins, used clubs, online auctions or just buying the second-to-last generation are all ways to add technology without a mortgage. Less than 10 per cent of us use trade-in credits. So there are options. But you're right. We occasionally lose touch. Thanks for bringing us back.

--Bob Carney

The "readability" of Golf Digest and specifically the size of the print in the magazine has been the subject of several letters of late. The latest comes from a reader in Vienna, Virginia.

A recent letter to the editor complained about the size of the print used in your magazine. Apparently that letter was not considered important, since there has been no adjustment in the size of the print used in your articles. I have been a reader/subscriber to your magazine for many years and, now in my late 60's, have reached the point where I cannot bother to try to read the tiny print you are using for many of your articles...particularly those with blue print. I receive the renewal offers, but why would I want to renew my subscription when I will not bother to try to read the tiny print?

For the record, we consider the issue an important one and are looking at ways to alleviate the problem, in keeping with a design that we feel has improved the overall look of the magazine.

Thanks to all who have written for bringing the issue to our attention.

--Bob Carney

Dr. Michael Mullan, having perused the Hot List carefully, attempts to catch his breath while securing his wallet.

We golfers must be a very gullible bunch if we believe that will bring a better game when, for a fraction of that cost one can get the right shafts fitted to our present sets and still have a lot left to pay for lessons, a much better game is more likely to result.

As for $150 green fees being about the norm or $475 at Pebble beach, PLEASE RESCUE OUR WONDERFUL GAME.

 

Michael, I can understand why heart-stopping prices might concern a doctor. And I really understand what those prices do to the budget of a journalist. But there are those, many of them readers, who don't seem taken aback. And there are many others who will wait until they can buy them for less...or used.

On the subject of green fees, couldn't agree more. For a decade we were building "Country Clubs for a Day." What we need more are munis you can, and want, to play every day of the week.

--Bob Carney

 

Wendy Liljenquist of Riverton, Utah found our Hot List coverage, as extensive as it was, lacking in one department.

I am a reader of Golf Digest and have been waiting for the Hot List issue which I received today. I was disappointed that nothing was written on women's clubs specifically. I have been waiting to purchase some new clubs but wanted to see what your magazine said. In particular, I am interested in a women's set. The Adams a3 set. Can you find out for me anything about this set or any other womens sets? It would really help me to know if any of this equipment would be recommended by someone who has tested it. Just talking to a young salesman at a store does not help.

For the record, Wendy, the February Hot List package does indicate which clubs on the list offer options for women. Women testers were part of the process of choosing the list.

Beyond that, you'll be happy to know that in the March issue we will devote multiple pages specificially to women's clubs, inlcuding the Adams Idea a3 set.

--Bob Carney

There's a ton of chatter around the web about the 2008 Golf Digest Hot List. Now Hot List judges Mike Johnson of Golf World and Mike Stachura of Golf Digest , also known as Bomb & Gouge, have done an extensive chat on GolfWRX.com about the List and the process of creating it. If you're at all interested in the process, or just want to know what Buzz is, it's worth a look.

Also, check out our video that documents the process.

--Bob Carney

A reader named George joins me in confusion about MOI. Given that it's Hot List season, it seems appropriate to clear up the confusion. Or try, anyway:

Writer Max Adler in Golf Digest mag writes about Moment of Inertia of clubs. I need help in understanding this--my question is--MOI is measured about a particular axis--is the axis the shaft axis or is it the axis thru the face of the club? Where can I find articles that address the technical issues of MOI and center of mass and center of percussion, etc??

George, Crudely put, moment of inertia (MOI) is an object's resistance to twisting and it can be measured along any axis. An inner tube floating down a river has a very low MOI about its horizontal axis (it will spin in a circle easily) but a much higher MOI about its vertical axis (it would require much more force to flip end over end). When we talk about golf, the important MOI measurement, the measurement of which the United States Golf Association has placed a limit of 6,000 grams-per-centimeters-squared, is the horizontal MOI about the clubhead's center of gravity. On a toed shot, the clubhead would have a tendency to twist clockwise about this axis. A larger clubhead with a higher MOI will resist this twisting more. MOI about the vertical axis of a clubhead (which resists twisting on high and low impact shots) matters, but is probably a less important a factor in off-center hit performance. MOI about the shaft axis is the third measurement possible with golf clubs. Golfers often refer to this MOI when they talk about how difficult it is to square a larger clubhead immediately before impact. The common complaint is that the larger clubheads tend to want to lag open. An egghead might insist this is more a matter of conservation of angular momentum, a closely related physical reality.

That said, all three of the MOI's share a direct relationship. The higher the horizontal MOI, the higher the vertical MOI, and the higher shaft axis MOI. The first two want to help while the third hurts your likelihood o fhitting a good shot. If you really want to delve deep, check out "How Golf Clubs Really Work and
How to Optimize Their Designs" by Frank D. Werner and Richard C. Greig. Max Adler

I am tempted to say, "You had me at inner tube," but that would only reveal my abject ignorance of these things. If, like me, you want to look at those new clubs flaunting their MOIs, check out the Hot List, and especially the gallery of products that lead in Technology.

--Bob Carney

Nice letter from New Jersey reader Bruce Ford, who played in the Cleveland Golf father-and-son event on Monterey Peninsula. In the why-we-play department:

Arriving the day after Christmas, then starting play on the 27th, the three-day 54 hole event was outstanding. The tournament starts with the Bayonet on the first day, The Links at Spanish Bay on day two, and finishes the last 18 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. My son and I have played golf together over the past twenty years at some really great courses from coast to coast but Pebble Beach was special. I've always wanted to play Pebble Beach, but to play it with my son as my tournament partner made my heart swell beyond my dreams. Our wives kept the 2 1/2 year old grandson in tow while we played, but before we teed off on No. 1 we all enjoyed the pleasure of watching my son walking with my grandson to the practice green. The day we left we spent time overlooking the 18th green, letting the grandson romp, taking pictures, and watching the waves crashing from the sea below. As I watched my family I wished to myself that I can play it again with both of them someday. A beautiful and loving wife (grandma), three glorious days of golf with my son, evenings by the fireplace in our room at the lodge with echoes of "Grandma & Grandpa" from every corner, and a beautiful daughter-in-law that lovingly let me just enjoy my boys. What else could any man want for Christmas?

What else, indeed.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Bayonetblackhorse.com)

Our U.S. Open Contest got Robert Stanton of Bellington, Mass. started, as in, "Don't get me started!"

Where is golf going? There is such a gap between an average pro golfer and an average amateur. Fifty years ago the average golfer could relate to his or her professional counterpart, but not now. Where do I begin--swing gurus, trainers, equipment improvements, and let's not forget the most important game improvement since the invention of the wooden golf tee…agronomy. The conditions of the tour’s golf courses are a totally different environment than what the average player experiences. The average player could benefit tremendously from these pristine conditions.

What if Torrey Pines was forced to take care of their course on the maintenance budget that my home course uses, it would be a whole different game. I believe a single-digit handicap could easily break 100 on an Open course. What about an average tour player, I bet they couldn't’t break par at
my track! Let’s bring the tour players back to reality; no caddies, no yardage books, spike marks ,unraked bunkers, divots, no galleries to keep the ball in play, paying for practice balls, hitting off a rubber mat because there is no grass. I wonder what Gary, Jack, Arnie, Sam or Ben would say ?

Oh, Robert, where do I start? First, you're right. We play two different games. But we always have. In the old days they played balata and we played surlyn and they used blades and we used game-improvement irons and there was no comparison in our games. Now they use our game improvement stuff and beat us by even more.

As for the pros playing on your home course, don't ask. The pros played on my home course in Michigan once and Jack Nicklaus shot a record 27-under par for four rounds. Ouch.

These guys are good. Poor maintenance would make them higher-maintenance, but they'd score just as well, I'm afraid.

--Bob Carney

(Photo:tpmgc.com)

It's official. This contest has caught on. We passed 20,000 entrants today, and they're coming from all walks of life: CEO, Civil Rights commissioner, college golf coach, construction worker, Army captain, college student, clergyman--in fact, a whole lot of clergymen, including one who assured us his entire congregation would be praying that he'd break 100--and those are just a Cs. There are a lot of comics.

Allen from Texas:

Reasons why I'm your golfer? I convinced my wife to name our son Hogan... I took my current job in part because the company owns a course I can play anytime, and I want to prove Tiger wrong--I'm a Mickelson fan. Besides, what does Tiger know? He hasn't been a 10 handicapper since he was 8.

Chris from New York City:

I would shoot a 98 with one breakfast ball off the first tee and I have the best golf terms: a Salman Rushdie--hard read; a Kate Winslet--a bit fat but otherwise perfect; a Cuban--needed one more revolution; a Rock Hudson--looked straight but wasn't; a Saddam Hussein--from one bunker right into another. I got a million of em.

Andrew from Arlington, VA:

The son of an irish saloon keeper and a former college golfer, I would make for great TV. Can I get a bonus if I beat Roger Maltbie?

More...

Golf World's Bunker story about the Masters admitting children 8-16 for free, drew a fast, unfettered response from Toronto reader Jim Szabo:

"And here is Tiger putting on 18 for the win"................"Waaaaaaa, Daddy I wanna go home!!!!"  

The decision to allow each patron to bring a child between 8 - 16 free on Masters tournament days is a HUGE mistake.  Sure, you want to interest the next generation but not during the Masters!!!  Let them do it during practice rounds when the atmosphere is much looser and players will not be bothered by the "quick to be bored" kids being dragged around by daddy.  It is going to be a disaster.  Save this letter and publish it the Monday after the Masters along with my "I told you so" letter.  It is going to be a nightmare.  Picture it.  It is already a tight squeeze due to the limited land that the course sits on and now you are going to potentially double the amount of spectators!!!  And the extra 25,000 or so are going to be children!!  Wake up!!  Have you never been to a child's birthday party???
 
I have been a patron at the Masters for many years and I look forward to that week more than Christmas itself.  However, I am not looking forward to sharing it with 25,000 kids. 

Jim, Jim, Jim. You sound like W.C. Fields: "I never met a kid I liked."

Things will be better than you think because:

1. There won't be 25,000 kids since only the "named" ticketholder may bring a child. If your wife and you each attend but the badges are in your name, only you may bring a child. If you give the badge to your cousin for a day, he may not bring a child.
2. Augusta has plenty of room. It sits on 365 acres.  This year it's added a 2,000-person seating area on hole 16.
3. At the Masters attendees seem to know how to act;  they'll know how to manage their children. I took my son last year and at one point, much sooner than I'd hoped, he was done. We left. But he was bragging about being there later.

Augusta seems to be saying, show kids the best of the game and the real competition--they can watch the Par-3 on TV--and maybe they'll get as taken with golf and the Masters as we are. Good for Billy.

--Bob Carney

Texas reader Dave Van Knapp has an issue with our consistency...or lack of it.

On page 24 of your January issue, there is a letter praising the virtues of setting the wrists to start the swing. The writer praises an article in the November issue which recommended "to start [the] swing, set [your] wrists first."

The letter writer was Joe Larosa of Newington, CT, who said, in response to the November article by teacher Jerome Andrews and Matt Rudy, "How to Start Your Swing.":

Now I know how to start my swing, by setting my wrists first....This afternoon I had one of my best ball-striking rounds in more than a decade.

Dave again:

A mere two pages later (not counting un-numbered ad pages), the swing sequence of Colt Knost clearly advocates just the opposite. Colt's swing is praised for taking "the club away with his shoulder and arm[s] rather than jerking it back with his hands."

The photo numbered 2 in the swing sequence shows Colt's arms at about the same position in his takeaway as the photo accompanying the letter on page 24. In the latter, the wrists have already hinged so much that the club shaft is at a right angle to the golfer's right forearm and about a 80-degree angle to his left forearm. Conversely, Colt's club shaft in photo #2 is about 120-130 degrees with his right forearm and nearly parallel with his left. In fact, his left wrist appears to be still cupped a little, not having begun to hinge at all.

So which is better? Cocking the wrists early in the backswing, or delaying the wrist hinge so that it is about the final thing done on the backswing rather than the first? Or doing it evenly throughout the backswing?

I would love to see an instructional article devoted to answering this question.

Great idea, Dave and I'll suggest it. My initial reaction, after listening to the best teachers in the world for 25 years is that there's more than one way to do everything in the swing, and most of the time they are moving us away from overdoing what started out as a good idea before we got ahold of it. (The one-piece takeaway being perhaps the most abused piece of advice in golf). Even something like Stack & Tilt has proved the point again, this time on the issue of weight distribution, that there is more than one way. But a discussion of "early set" versus "late set" would be eye-opening. Thanks.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Stephen Szurlej)

Several interesting letters about Ron Sirak's "Old Man Woods" piece on our web site. This one, from Jack Christian of Oakland Hills, was intriguing:

Two weeks ago, while visiting Las Vegas, our group decided to try a little golf at Shadow Creek before the Mayweather Fight. The weather was nasty, 50 degrees with occasional rain. There were two other golfers on the course. One of them won the Target World Challenge a few days later. And yes, Mr. Sirak," He is fun to watch even if there is no one else playing against him.

That's the thing about Tiger. You feel, at some level, that he's one of us. He just loves the game. Plays a bit better than us, is all. Sirak offers stats to underscore Woods dominance:

There have been 44 majors played since Tiger turned pro. Besides Woods, five players have won multiple times: Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh, both with three; and Ernie Els, Mark O'Meara, and Retief Goosen, two apiece. Add their totals and it comes to a dozen--one fewer than Woods. Nineteen players have been one-major-and-out guys since 1997--though each has one more than the disappointing six.

Jay Perlstein of Birmingham, Alabama, writes to second Sirak.

What a great article, clear succinct with no emotional attachment. Love him or hate him you have to admire Tiger Woods. We all need to step back and look at what he has accomplished...when his run is over and we know it all ends sometime, and we look back, only then will he truly be appreciated for what he has done.

Part of what he has done, as Sirak points out, is raise revenue for his competitors:

Is it too much to expect anyone to run with Woods? Absolutely. He's special. Is it too much to expect one of these rapidly aging young hotshots to have won a major by now? Absolutely not. What they have won, however, is a combined $77.8 million of the PGA Tour's cash, with Garcia leading the way at $19.5 million. Does the wealth available make players soft? Perhaps. Part of what makes Woods special is it has never been about money for him, only winning.

All which proves that a) The Old Man loves the game, and b) plays it better than anyone ever has.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Dom Furore)