The International Preview

PGA Tour professionals head to Castle Pines for one last tune-up before the PGA Championship.

The International LogoThe final major championship of 2005 is just one week away, but many of the top-ranked golfers are making one last stop in Colorado before heading to Baltusrol for the PGA Championship. Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh battled it out last week at the Buick Open, and Vijay eventually pulled out the victory. Both Singh and Woods will be taking this week off in preparation for Baltusrol, and Ernie Els is out for the season due to knee surgery. That being said, the rest of the big guns on the PGA Tour will be teeing it up at Castle Pines in what should be a very exciting event.

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USGA Sued by Glove Maker

H&B, makers of the Bionic Glove line and Louisville Slugger sports equipment, has filed a lawsuit against the United States Golf Association after the company’s Bionic Golf Glove was rejected and deemed non-conforming by the Association’s Equipment Standards Committee.

The Bionic Golf GloveIf the glove doesn’t fit the guidelines, then you must deem it non-conforming. Sure, that may not be as catchy as Johnny Cochran’s famous slogan, but that’s what the USGA has been preaching to Louisville Slugger. Hillerich and Bradsby Co., manufacturer of the Bionic Glove line and Louisville Slugger baseball equipment, has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court against the United States Golf Association involving the Association’s approval of the Bionic Golf Glove.

The Bionic Golf Glove was designed by Louisville hand surgeon Jim Kleinert and advertised as an aid to golfers with arthritis due to it’s ergonomical design. The glove has neoprene between the fingers and on the flexpoints of the hand as well as padding placed throughout the palm and fingers. The glove’s padding is the culprit when it comes to seeking the USGA’s approval. Rules state that the glove be “plain” and meet 12 of the USGA Equipment Standards Committee’s guidelines such as “[the glove] shall not have features such as any other contrivance or device that might assist the golfer in making a stroke.”

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Callaway Calls New CEO To The Tee

Callaway has a new CEO, and his last gig was with a cosmetics company? Yep. George Fellows is now one of the fellas.

CallawayCallaway Golf’s year-long search for a new leader ended yesterday when the company named George Fellows as its new president and CEO. Fellows is best known as the former head of Revlon, and is credited with turning that brand around in the late 1990s.

Fellows replaces William Baker, who had been the company’s interim CEO since Ron Drapeau was forced out last year. Fellows is the first person to lead Callaway Golf who never actually worked alongside company namesake Ely Callaway, who died in 2001. Past top executives like Don Dye, Chuck Yash and Drapeau were all groomed to succeed Ely Callaway, while outgoing interim CEO Baker served on the company’s board of directors under the late entrpreneur.

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Score Free Tickets to the 2005 PGA Championship

The Play Golf America Academy is giving free lessons to beginners on Sunday August 7, 2005. Attend the clinic and get free tickets to the 2005 PGA Championship.

Play Golf AmericaIn association with the PGA, Play Golf America is giving away tickets to next week’s 87th PGA Championship. Golfers who pre-qualify at the Play Golf America website and then attend the clinic will be eligible to receive two tickets each to any of three practice rounds at the final major of 2005 to be held Aug. 11-14th at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.

Make sure you show up for the clinic because if you don’t you will forfeit any chance of scoring those hard-to-get tickets. Register too late and you’ll be placed on the waiting list.

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Coming Back for More

2005 has marked the resurgence of a few veterans on the PGA Tour.

Thrash TalkLast week in Thrash Talk, I mentioned a few young guns who have yet to live up to their potential on the PGA Tour. It was a bit of a negative story. This week, I am turning things around to the positive. There are always golfers that have success certain years and then dissapear for a period of time. Some make a resurgence, and some never make it back to the spotlight. A couple examples from last year are John Daly and Carlos Franco.

John Daly had a horrendous 2003, finishing 171st on the money list. Daly not only won an event on the PGA Tour last year, he also finished 21st on the season-ending money list. Carlos Franco has always been a little inconsistent, but he finished 94th on the 2003 money list. Last year, Franco won the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee and finished 29th on the season-ending money list. These kinds of stories are always great in my opinion, especially when the golfers are fan favorites like Daly.

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Range Finders: Legal Soon?

The “range finder rule,” Rule 14-3b, may soon be going the way of the dodo. Hallelujah!

Bushnell Pinseeker 1500In last week’s issue of GolfWeek, James Achenbach breaks the news that the USGA and the R&A are set to bust up one of the dumbest rules in modern-day golf: rule 14-3b, the “range finder rule.”

The rule currently prohibits a player from using “any artificial device or unusual equipment for the purpose of gauging or measuring distance or conditions which might affect his play.” This includes range finders, which are artificial measuring devices.

The stupidity of this rule was, of course, not always evident. Golf existed long before yardage markers and yardage books. However, with many courses publishing yardage books or marking sprinkler heads, the rule has become long in the tooth.

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Hole in One? Win Free Tifosi Sunglasses

Get a hole in one, win a free pair of Tifosi Optics sunglasses. Seems like a great way to make a great event even greater!

Tifosi GlassesWe received an interesting email today detailing one of the most interesting promotions we’ve ever seen. Anyone who is lucky (and skillful) enough to card a hole-in-one between now (August 1, 2005) and November 30, 2005 wins a free pair of Tifosi Optics sunglasses:

In what is believed to be the first ever national promotion rewarding anyone who hits a hole-in-one, starting Aug. 1, any golfer in America who hits an ace will be entitled to a free pair of Tifosi Optics golf sunglasses. The glasses will help them deflect the attention that comes with scoring an ace, golf’s most glaring achievement. There are no strings attached and no costs, just a valuable reward for the accomplishment of a lifetime.

I’ve posted the full text of the press release in our forum. Tifosi Optics is available online at http://tifosioptics.com/. The hole-in-one redemption form should be available later today.

The Sand Trap will be reviewing a pair of Tifosi Optics’ sunglasses within the next few weeks. Keep your eyes peeled… no pun intended.

The Distance Debate: Just the Facts

The distance debate is raging in golf, but the facts are clear. In this article, we share those facts.

This article, like its sibling “The Distance Debate: Which Side are They On?” is an evolving document. We’ll list the changes at the bottom and add to it or edit it when new information becomes available.

The distance debate is raging in the world of golf. Though 99.5% of golfers may be unaware of the debate, the USGA, the R&A, former players like Jack Nicklaus, touring professionals, and members of Augusta National are all involved, and any precedent they set is going to cause quite a ripple throughout the golf world.

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Is This the Beginning of the End?

Golf’s governing bodies have clamped down on technological advances in drivers. With every manufacturer pushing up against the newly established limits, does that mean we’ve reached the era of non-differentiation?

Bag DropI was struck by a recent posting on a golf forum. The poster claimed to have just tested six new drivers, all from different manufacturers, on the course. He hit dozens of drives before reaching an unsettling conclusion: All six drivers hit the ball the same distance. In the era of USGA performance limitations, have we already reached the point where there really isn’t much difference in drivers?

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