Nicklaus Golf Balls

Golf’s greatest champion Jack Nicklaus has many diverse business interests and earlier this year added golf balls to his lineup of products. And though not strictly a new idea, Nicklaus is pitching them for golfers to pick the ball that suits the set of tees they play.

The idea is golfers usually playing for example the most forward set or white tees don’t especially hit the ball a long distance and have driver swing speeds of less than 90 mph. According to Nicklaus they would enjoy playing the Nicklaus White ball. It has a soft Surlyn cover and gradient core with a mantle formulated for less spin…in other words just what someone needs who doesn’t hit his or her driver over 200-yards.

The other balls, Blue for blue tee players and Black for those on the tips, have different construction to reflect the higher swing speeds typical of golfers playing the longer tee sets. The Blue is of 3-piece construction similar to the White but made for swing speeds from 90 to 110 mph while the Black is a urethane cover 3-piece for driver swing speeds over 95 mph.

As part of their ongoing charitable effort the Nicklaus Companies will donate a $1 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation for every dozen Nicklaus Golf Balls sold. Plus if shipment is made using FedEx an additional $1 will be donated.

Nicklaus Golf Balls are available for sale on Nicklaus.com and more information about the partnership with St. Jude is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhxyTaxaGGU.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

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“We Don’t Feel We’ve Found the Bottom”

Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Ed Stack made the pessimistic assessment in the headline during a call on May 20 with financial analysts discussing the sharp drop in sales of golf equipment during the first quarter of the year at Dick’s and Golf Galaxy stores.

Stack’s full comment was, “The more concerning and unpredictable issue is the golf business. We anticipated softness, but instead we saw significant decline with Golf Galaxy down 10.4% and the Dick’s Sporting Goods golf business off by high single-digits. Our overall golf business missed our first quarter 2014 sales plan by approximately $34 million. We don’t feel we’ve found the bottom yet in the golf sales number.”

Now two months later, the company laid off more than 500 PGA Professionals marking a major retrenchment of the its efforts in the golf business. For the past several years a significant portion of every store’s floor space was devoted to the sport and almost every one of their approximately 560 stores had a PGA Professional on staff. The large merchandise display footprint (including hitting bays in many stores) and professional assistance were factors in Dick’s growth as an equipment seller, in many markets overwhelming small golf shops and on-course shops with aggressive advertising and service.

Stack also said in the call with analysts, "We are selling drivers in our stores this spring for $99 that were approximately $299 20 months ago,” and this was a big contributor to the financial results and there was no end in sight.

As an example, in comparison with first quarter 2013 Golf Galaxy and Dick's sold two percent fewer drivers, the most expensive club in a set. However in first quarter this year the price of drivers declined 16 percent and with golf accounting typically for 15 percent of company sales the impact was significant.

Overall sales for the first quarter of 2014 increased 7.9 percent to $1.4 billion and same store sales increased 1.5 percent, with Dick’s stores increasing 2.3 percent and Golf Galaxy decreasing 10.4 percent.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

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Tom Watson Lessons of a Lifetime II

I reviewed Tom Watson’s original DVD Lessons of a Lifetime when it came out over four years ago and said in part:

“There are hundreds of golf instruction books, tapes and videos; some of doubtful value and a few, a very few really worth the purchase price. On that extremely short list of instructional classics are books such as Ben Hogan’s “Five Lessons” (1957) and Jack Nicklaus’ “Golf My Way” (book published in 1974 and VHS tape in 1983).”

Well, that’s still true. I went on to say Tom Watson’s Lessons of a Lifetime DVDs were excellent and I instantly added them to my “must-have” list.

Now the two original DVDs have been reissued with 22 additional lessons or if you already have the 2010 DVDs you can buy a DVD with just the new lessons covering three areas: Advanced Lessons to Lower Your Score, More on Chipping and Putting and Teaching Young and Old.

Watson’s presentation of the 22 new instruction segments is excellent and production values are as good as the first two DVDs.

To give you an idea of what Watson covers, the first of the new lessons builds on the information presented in the first set and is entitled “The Secret” #2 Keeping the Hip Crease. Whether it should be called a “secret” or is a secret on the same mythic level with “Hogan’s Secret” is open to debate but maintaining the angle between the hips and spine—the so called “crease”—is certainly of major importance to hit the ball powerfully and on line.

A second lesson that struck a chord with me was his clear way of explaining, if you want to use his method of putting (and who wouldn’t), the critical components of the proper pre-putt routine, set up, posture, grip and stroke. Watson’s explanation of the thinking behind what he does and the demonstration of how he puts it all together was a real light bulb moment for me. It has significantly helped my putting.

Watson makes the point that even after playing all these years and a World Golf Hall of Fame career, “I’ve been experiencing the game for half a century, and I promise you I’m still learning.”

Enough said…if he is still finding out new aspects of the swing and game, we can help our games by listening to what he has to say.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

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4 Tips In Improving Your Golf Swing Quickly

Though it can look gentle and easy on the outside, golf is anything but. Whenever you are in a Tri State Golf Course Area, you are required to have a steady hand and a high level of accuracy in order to let the ball fly to its intended target. To make this possible, you need to improve on your golf swing. The question is: how does one exactly improve on their golf swing to have a rewarding day out in the field? Below are a few tips to keep in mind.

Get a Grip

The very first thing to do in improving your swing is to pay attention to how you hold the club. The best way to improve your swing to hold the club in neutral position as it increases your chances of hitting the ball accurately. To do this, you must let your arms hang loose from your shoulders and clench your hand in a manner that your entire index finger is covered by your thumb and the thumb’s tip covering part of the middle finger.

Now, gently bring the top of your lead hand (your dominant hand) to the club and hold it firmly. You should be able to see the knuckles in your index and middle fingers. Finally, place your trailing hand firmly below on your leading hand, making sure that it maintains its neutral position. This neutral grip will allow you to hit the ball at the center of the club head, allowing you more control as to how hard the ball flies and where it lands.

Mind Your Stance

You could be surprised at how you position your body during a swing will make difference between an on-target shot and an embarrassing miss. The first thing you have to do is to spread your legs in such a way that your feet are parallel to your shoulders. This will give you a wide base support which will improve your mark. Next, slightly bend your knees and keep your spine straight. Keep in mind that a slouching body can throw off your aim, leading to a poor performance.

Move with the Swing

Fortunately, the concept of swinging a club perfectly is simple. Whether a backswing or a downswing, the key to an accurate shot lies in the way you move your body in every shot. Make sure that you pivot your shoulders towards your spine and shift your weight to the back of your foot as the club is bearing down on the ball. Keep your motion smooth and flowing so as not to waste your body’s energy.

Relax

One of the most important tips in creating a perfect in developing your swing is to always keep your calm before and after every shot. Keep in mind that perfecting your swing will take a lot of time and practice which means you might get frustrated in the process. Experienced players know that too much frustration will make any golfer progressively worse in every shot. Thus, it is best that you do not blow your top off in every miss. By keeping a calm demeanor, you are bound to improve on your swing which will result in an impressive performance in any Tri State golf course area.

Remember…Snead’s Open Championship

Sam Snead had a legendary career. With 82 wins on the PGA Tour, still not equaled by Tiger Woods, and with the Open Championship being played next week at Royal Liverpool it brings to mind Snead’s Open record “across the pond.”

Immediately after the end of World War II Wilson Sporting Goods, his longtime sponsor, pressed Snead to travel to Great Britain to promote their clubs and balls as golf became reestablished following six years of war. Snead had played in the Open once before, in 1937, and was not especially enthusiastic about returning but perhaps the fact the venue was the Old Course at St. Andrews helped make up his mind to go.

As Snead related the story, he and Lawson Little had to ride from London to St. Andrews, Scotland in a cramped little rail carriage and saw what he called a patch of weeds and rocks. As the train slowed and then stopped Snead asked a gentleman sharing the compartment, “You from around here? Can you tell me what they call that? Looks like an old abandoned golf course.”

The scornful reply from the staid English gentleman put the American in his place. “My good sir, that is the Royal and Ancient Club of St. Andrews. It is not now, nor will it ever be, abandoned.”

Slammin’ Sammy apologized profusely but failed to mollify his fellow passenger who turned out to be a titled member of royalty. Snead couldn’t remember for sure but it was “Duke Something” and the Duke was not bashful telling newsmen on the scene the entire disgraceful—in his eyes—story. The British newspapers took Snead to the cleaners which was not something done with the same intensity in the United States at the time so the “Hillbilly Pro” had a tough time the entire week.

But Snead was able to get his revenge for the unfriendly treatment by fans and the press…he won the 1946 Open Championship by four shots and even though he got the first place check, a paltry $600, he did not go back to defend in 1947.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

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Tri State Golfer Summer Issue 2014

Reasons to Keep Your Tristate Golfer Magazine Subscription

Although there are online blogs you can now go through over the internet, still nothing beats the goodness of your Tristate Golfer Magazine. If you have been subscribing to the magazine, there is no reason why you should stop. With that, here are some of the many reasons why you should keep your magazine subscription. Check out the cool reasons below and you’ll learn to love the Tristate Golfer even more.

1. You don’t have to drive to the shop to get your magazine. If you subscribe, you can rest assured that your magazine will arrive at your doorstep every month. You can actually save much time, money and effort. You don’t need to spend on gas to get a hold of the magazine.

2. You can subscribe for a year’s supply of magazines. Get the perk of paying for a subscription all at once. You won’t have to pay every month. You can pay everything for a year and actually get a discount. Cool, right?

3. Get golf news ahead of everybody else in your community. Your magazine subscription actually brings you golf news and other stuff before they are even found in the market. You get to have your copy first.

4. You can read amazing stuff anywhere you want. You actually read your magazine whereever you are. You can bring it to your weekend getaway at the beach or at a camping. You can also read the whole stuff or your favorite parts of the mag over and over if you want to.

5. Get the chance to win freebies. Magazine usually have sponsors and advertisers that give out contests through the mag. If you are the lucky one, you could win amazing freebies!

6. Get samples along with the magazine. Some products that are being endorsed through the mag place samples with the subscriptions. You can enjoy the samples yourself as well and for free!

 

7. Be inspired by the amazing stories featured in the magazine. The magazine will always feature somebody that is known and has achieved so much in the golf course. If you read their stories, you will surely be inspired to improve your skills even more.

8. Make it as your collection. A magazine edition is only released once. Different contents are inside a different month each month or quarter. You can actually collect all the magazines from the maiden issue with the latest ones.

9. Have something you always look forward to have every month. Because it is sent to you every month, you can always look forward to the contents and possible freebies that you along with it. You will never have to be disappointed about receiving only bills and nothing else.

If you are planning to get rid of your subscription, think again. You wouldn’t want to regret doing just the thing, right? Any Tristate Golfer Magazine is made to provide you with all the coolest stuff and information you need about the sport in the Tristate region. When you subscribe to the magazine, you will never have to miss any of the amazing deals and news about golf, ever again.

10 Rounds with The Game of Golf

You want to get better—right?

And you know that means lots of practice—right?

Plus you know charting rounds will help find the weaknesses that rate additional attention—right?

But aside from the desire, what are you doing to improve? Take a basic example…how far does your driver go? Bet you don’t know hole by hole or even on average to within five yards…or maybe ten yards. Or, what’s the carry of your five iron…your nine iron? How many putts did you have in the last round or what is your GIR?

Well, you get the point. To improve your score you must know what you do well and what needs added attention, instruction and practice.

And that’s where Game Golf comes in.

I’m not particularly tech-savvy nor do I want to be, plus I’m not interested in some device if it gets in my way physically or mentally. Game Golf fits those criteria in a nice, positive way.

It’s simple to use, after downloading the software to your computer and creating an account, make sure the belt unit is charged and you’re ready to go.

I will admit at first I sometimes didn’t remember to tap the butt of the club (there are buttons you screw into the grips) on the belt unit before each shot but more on that later. However, once it became part of my pre-shot routine I did it without thinking.

Tapping the button on the end of each club marks the spot where you’re hitting and since each button has a different code the belt unit can record, “He’s hitting a five iron.”

When you get to where the ball landed, select the next club, tap the button on the belt unit and hit the shot. As I said—simple.

After the round plug the belt unit into your computer with the supplied USB cable and the software downloads your shots and calculates all the distances and stats. It even lets you add shots so if you forgot to tap before you hit, say your drive, you can add it. GPS based Game Golf ($249) is ready when you switch it on so there no searching for the course you’re playing and it even knows if you start on the back nine or skip a hole.

Since improvement involves knowing what needs improving, by using this system you have all the information about each round, the individual shots and your averages. Suppose after a few rounds your drives average 210-yards (which by the way isn’t bad for a recreational player) but they are hardly ever in the fairway. Or your putts per round are somewhere north of 32. You can plainly see opportunities to improve.

It didn’t take ten rounds for me to become used to Game Golf. After only two or three I saw while my fairways in regulation number was good and I was hitting 13 or so greens when I did miss my scrambling percentage was not good…in fact it was the worst part of my game. I had thought my putting was or even my mid-irons were but it was the pitches and chips so I have been spending lots of time practice around the green and am beginning to see it pay off.

Could all of this data be written done in a notebook during the round? Sure, and the statistics could be calculated too, but I challenge you figure out the exact yardage you hit your drive on the twelfth hole without some kind of laser or GPS device and Game Golf is the most painless way I know of to do it. And for a sugar topping, the USGA allows Game Golf to be used in competition.

If you want to know your game better and to improve Game Golf is an excellent way to get the data you need.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

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