Tiger’s return lasts only two days, Geoff Ogilvy wins another WGC event, Titleist and Callaway go at it again, and some guy wins an alternate field event. Also this week, two new sponsorship changes on the PGA Tour and a whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.
You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 108 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.
For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.
Off the Tee
Forum Topic of the Week
Beating Balls
- FBR Out in 2010
- Wells Fargo Renames Wachovia Event
- Titleist vs. Callaway, Round 78
Colophon
This show was recorded with Audio Hijack Pro over a Skype connection. We then used Soundtrack Pro to edit the show and GarageBand to produce the AAC file from the AIFF file, to add the artwork, and so forth. Feeder was used to create the XML file.
Note: This is an AAC (MP4) file, an open file format. iTunes – free software – can play AAC files, as can numerous other players, though we heartily recommend iTunes.
You Can Contribute
If you’d like to submit a listener question that we can answer on the air, send the question to podcast@thesandtrap.com.
While Tiger’s early departure is a surprise to many, the one guarantee with this legend is that he will be back, winning matches and winning tournaments sooner rather than later.
It’s become more than pathetic to watch Callaway Golf continue to go to court over perceived golf ball patent infringements by Acushnet.
Bottom line, if the only way that Callaway feels that it will be the Number One Ball In Golf is by legal means, then clearly they have no faith in their own product line.
Enough already! Let players decide who is the Number One Ball in Golf and not the courts.
For the record, I play Titleist because they are The #1 Ball In Golf for me!!!
I’ve always been under the impression that golf ball manufacturing is a bit of a minefield when it comes to patents. Companies typically agree, beforehand and behind the scenes, to look the other way while each potentially uses patented technology. When these back-room handshakes are spoken of publicly, they’re called “cross-licensing,” and they’ve been a part of golf for quite some time.
This is, apparently, what happens when that all breaks down. Me? As I said in the podcast, I still blame the patent office.
Interesting view, Erik. Never thought to view it as a patent office issue.
Question? Are patents themselves very detailed or can they be viewed as “generic” in nature? When I read of infringement I often think and ask, to what degree?
When I view this particular episode I can’t really fathom to what detail Callaway perceives infringement. The manufacturing process? Materials used? Dimensions? Formulations? etc… Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
I don’t know. IANAL, once again. You can patent entirely too many things, I think, these days. You can patent a process for extruding rubber. You can patent a dimple shape. You can patent spacing out six deeper dimples around a golf ball. You can patent a dimple pattern. I got stuck on dimples there, but heck, I think you can even patent a color these days.
Gotta fall back on IANAL again. And remember, Titleist has sued Callaway back this time. They’ve both sued each other, and their previous lawsuit (Callaway suing Titleist) isn’t over yet.
IANAL also! Saying all that, you are correct about one thing, Erik. This ain’t over by a long shot! I sure hope all this legal wrangling is not incorporated into the price of their respective golf balls; That would be more than annoying!
Thank you, Erik!
Agree Putting Greens Guide!
Tiger is simply using the first few tournaments to get back his competitive edge.
This guy is a living legend. Tiger is expected to come back, first time, and win a tournament because that’s what we’ve come to expect from him. It will be in very short order before Tiger once again, begins to dominate the PGA Tour.