Have you ever taken all of the clubs out of your bag only to find that it still weighs ten pounds? Many of us have the pockets of our golf bags stuffed full of all sorts of things. Some of them are as the usual items one would expect to find in a golf bag such as balls, tees, towels, and gloves. Other times you can find some pretty strange items such as various good luck charms. This week we’ll take a look at what’s new in the world of accessories.
Just Hangin’ Out
You don’t have to look far to start finding some of these extra goodies. Many of them are hanging right off of the golf bag. Common items that are found dangling off the bag include towels, brushes, and other items used to clean clubs and balls.
One company that is on the forefront of golf towel and brush technology is Frogger. Their new Frogger Brush Pro and Amphibian Golf Towel are making waves in the golf world. The Frogger Brush Pro puts a new “spin” on cleaning your clubs. The brush comes with a combo brush head that includes both wire and nylon bristles. The wire scrubs away tough dirt, while the nylon gently sweeps it out of the grooves and off of the face. Another great feature of this brush is the pop-out groove cleaner. It digs deep to get the dirt out of the depths of your grooves, allowing them to work to their full potential. The brush also comes with a retractable cord, which is great for hanging it from your bag. It also allows free movement while cleaning your clubs without the worry of losing your brush.
The Amphibian Golf Towel is another great way to keep your clubs clean and dry. It is actually two towels in one. A waterproof barrier separates the inner pocket from the outer towel, which allows one to stay wet while the other stays dry. On clear days you can wet the inner pocket to effectively clean your clubs. On a wet and rainy day, keep the inside dry to towel off your gloves and grips. Frogger also makes a smaller towel, just for your golf balls, which comes in handy on the green. It also fits right in your pocket or can be clipped to your belt.
Nothing More Than a Peg in the Ground?
Many of us never give much thought to those little wooden pegs we set the ball up on when we tee off. That is all about to change thanks to the folks at Excel Golf, makers of the Zero Friction Golf Tee. These new tees are designed to reduce the contact area between the ball and the tee, which in turn will reduce the friction generated as the ball moves over the top of the tee just after impact. This is said to add both distance and accuracy to your tee shot. Tour pros such as Kenny Perry endorse the Zero Friction Tees, and encourage all golfers to give them a shot. Or check out the Epoch tees – same idea, different look.
From Brush T comes just that, the Brush T. These tees are made from flexible synthetic bristles, which make them very durable. The base on the tee and even bristle length gives you a consistent height when placing your ball on the tee. No more guessing and eyeballing your tee height. The flexible bristles hold your ball steady, but are still flexible enough to eliminate some friction through impact.
From the Brush T Website:
The innovative Brush-t performance golf tee allows you to tee your ball at a consistent height on flexible synthetic bristles that bend on impact, creating a feel of driving the ball off the air. Unlike a regular golf tee, the bristles on the brush tee provide significantly less resistance which produces dramatically longer and straighter drives.
Fits Like a Glove
Well, a glove is just there to stop the blisters, right? Not anymore. The folks at Bionic Gloves have tackled the task of making a golf glove that helps your game in addition to from protecting your hands. The technology built into their new line of golf gloves is amazing. From knuckle motion zones to anatomical relief pads to stop club twist, these gloves have it all. The fingers are pre-rotated, which makes these gloves feel natural, like a second layer of skin.
Bionic also makes a glove that caters to players with arthritis. These gloves come in pairs and feature enhanced wrist support and a fit that reduces pain while strengthening your grip on the club. And yeah, last we checked, these gloves are still illegal for tournament play under USGA rules for those without arthritis.
The new Burner line of gloves from TaylorMade was designed with performance in mind. Traditional cabretta leather provides excellent grip, while Adidas moisture wicking fabric lines the glove and makes up the back panel. This helps keep your hand cool and dry, while providing a snug fit for a sure grip and great feel.
Final Thoughts
Oftentimes we never give a second thought to all those little extras that are lying around in our bag pockets. Sometimes those little things can have a big impact on your game. What if you had cleaned your wedge grooves and stopped that ball on the green? How about that putt that went off line because there was some dirt left in a dimple? With a few seconds and some good quality tools, these little mishaps can be avoided.
What about the drive you smoked into the ground because you pushed your tee in too far? Or that nasty mark on the sole of your driver from that last tee? Give these new tees a shot and see if they don’t help you a little bit off of the tee.
“Ooh, the club slipped during my swing.” Oldest excuse in the book, huh? Well, now we can’t use that one anymore with all of the new gloves on the market. Take a few minutes and find a glove with a good fit and features. That’ll really help you get a grip on your game. Take a few minutes and browse the accessories section of your local golf shop next time you stop in. You never know what little things can help you shave a stroke or two off of your game.
This article was written by a guest author. If you’d like to contribute, send us an email.
Other than a regular towel (half wet at the bottom/half dry at the top), divot repair tool, ball marker, and tees–don’t carry any fancy accessories.
I did try the brush T off and on for a year, but back to just regular tees.
The TaylorMade Burner line of gloves are very nice. They feel great and fit exceptionally well.
Same here, just carry regular tees, an old tooth brush to clean my clubs, two small towels one wet and dry (micro fiber, buy them in the automotive section, they are incredibly cheap there). I keep my clubs clean, I don’t allow any dirt to remain the grooves, I clean them after each and every shot. I keep the ball clean as well. Amazing how much truer it flies when clean and when hit with a clean club. I always play the ball as it lies, but once its on the green and after I have putted out I clean the ball.
Don’t use gloves (too expensive and yes they do help to release, but I don’t they add much). I do keep a bottle of sub block (Hey its florida) and either Advil or Tylenol. When I walk I carry water and something to eat, usually an Apple or Oatmeal to Go. Lastly my car keys and cell phone.
All these specialize accessories, especially the very expensive Frogger towels and brushes are things you don’t need, don’t help your game and only make the game more unaffordable. Some are innovative products like the FrogTogg, but most you simply don’t need. Reviewers just don’t have the courage to say so.
Zero friction tees are complete non-sense. There is ZERO science supporting this.
If these tees improved your distance or accurracy, the best players in the world would be using them and only a handful of pros do, and it’s because they’re being payed to do it.
I’m fairly certain there is some science behind it, however dubious it may be. The manufacturers certainly throw out some claims, at least regarding scientific testing methods they’ve used to “prove” their claims.
Regardless, as I stated in our review, I don’t care if they help the ball go farther or not – it’s just nice that they rarely break.
As Erik mentioned, the best part of the frictionless tees is you can play a whole season with one tee. I lose more from them dropping out of my pocket than breaking.
I agree with Erik and Kevin’s comments regarding the zero friction tees. I use them and the fact that they rarely break is such a nice benefit. If the ball goes further or straighter then that is great, I can’t say if they do or not but I am quite certain that they don’t create any negative effects for me from the tee box – so why not use them? I am still working through the 50 pack I bought last spring and see that lasting the rest of this year pretty easily, and probably next season as well. Given the fact that they can be had for not much more than regular wood tees, I find that they have easily paid for themselves at this point and will buy more when I need them.
Ditto on my reasons for using the Zero Friction Tees. I just played five rounds with one tee. My wife gave me a fifty pack for Christmas, and I’ve only used about half the bag….that’s Christmas 2007!
Loved the Brush T’s for the same reason mentioned in article, constant ball height, but they didn’t last too many rounds before the bristles would start to spread, no longer holding the ball.
Been using the Zero Friction Tees for a couple of years and like someone else mentioned, I lose more than I break. Then I have a short tee that never breaks again.
The best accessory I every found was a velcro glove holder that clips to my back. Always there and allows it to air out between shots. Think I paid around $10 for it and its been great.