Our Picks

I still believe that, with a few precautions, playing golf in the time of COVID-19 can be a safe activity that will provide more benefits (fresh air, exercise, a little piece of "normal" and socialization while maintaining a safe distance) than risks. With a few minor changes (the second question), golf courses in most of the country should, IMO, be open for play.

Yet here in PA, and perhaps because our governor is in Harrisburg and closer to Philadelphia (and NYC), golf courses have remained closed since last Thursday night.

In Ohio, the Golf Superintendents Network sent out an email that, in part, says this:

That link, if it doesn't work, is to this: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/public-health-orders/directors-order-to-stay-at-home. It currently just links to a PDF, here: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/static/DirectorsOrderStayAtHome.pdf

One of the allowed exceptions to staying at home is:


In other words, you can play golf, and people in Ohio are, for the most part, still able to play golf with modifications.

 

Note that if your situation changes, you can click "Show Vote Options" and change your vote(s). Please do so as the situation around you changes. I hope to be changing my vote(s) soon from "closed" to "open" on some level.

The PlaneMate is a relatively new training aid that costs about $160.

Tour Striker PlaneMate - Tour Striker

The Tour Striker PlaneMate is a GAME CHANGER. Order now to make sure you get yours before they’re gone.





Essentially, the PlaneMate helps you do a few things:

Take the club back without rolling it inside.


Get to the top reasonably well on plane.


Lay it down a bit from there.


Pivot through without throwing the clubhead at the ball.

Most human beings like nice things. Nice things can mean different things to different people, but I learned long ago that "nice things" generally feel better, work better, last longer, and require less maintenance. Nice things add joy to your life, while cheap or poorly made or utilitarian things add no joy and, if particularly cheap or poorly made, sap joy from your life.

For example, in photography, great tripods with a nice ball head cost about $3,000 and up. Yes, there are $30 tripods out there… which in a pinch can "work," but they will break. They'll be frustrating to use. They'll stick. They won't handle adverse conditions well. They'll be frustrating to use. And even though you can buy a hundred of them for the same cost as a lower-end pro model tripod… you're going to hate every minute you spend with your $30 tripods.

The golf world has plenty of apparel options. You can buy the stock lines from Adidas, Puma, Titleist/FootJoy, Callaway. They're all pretty good, and they're pretty well made, but they're targeted to a slightly less discerning market.

You can also spend $500 on a polo shirt, hand-stitched by a blind monk from the silk spun from genetically modified silkworms curated over centuries by a family of sherpas to spin the finest, softest, most luxurious silk… Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit here, but the point is, you can spend as much as you want, too, and that market exists.

Between the mass appeal market and the high-end market, though, exists a few brands like VUGA, LinkSoul, and others.

VUGA's mission seems to be to create high-end clothing at a reasonably mass market price. Affordable luxury. These are my words, not VUGA's. If I quote the VUGA site, they'll say "The VUGA brand represents superb craftsmanship, comfort and the highest quality fabrics." Then they'll "encourage you to become a part of [their] lifestyle."

The Skinny

I'm excited to share a little bit of an insider peek here at the next shoe from TRUE Linkswear: the TL-01.

Though I wear a lot of my TRUE shoes everywhere - to the movies, to dinner, to a bike trail, etc. - the TL-01 is specifically designed to go everywhere from the job to the tee box.

I'm really looking forward to giving these a try, specifically as a teaching shoe - the zero drop shoe (a nice return from the admittedly pretty-low-but-not-quite-zero Major, Original, and Knit) will be comfortable and stylish, and yet if I have a free block and want to play some golf or hit some shots, will be perfect. Or if I have to meet my wife at dinner.

Some photos of the shoes first…


The Details

Sizing: 8, 8.5-11.5, 12, 13

Colorways: Classic Black, Vintage White (both July 1), Grey Area (late July)

Overview: The insanely light TL-01 is a shoe created to seamlessly transition from the office to the links and everywhere in between. The TL-01 is crafted from the finest full grain weatherproof Nappa leather and is durable enough for anything your life can throw at it. Don't be fooled, though, as the TL-01 weighs only 8.7 ounces, TRUE's lightest shoe yet. Packed in the TRUE canvas bag (the Majors come in these, too), this complete package makes the TL-01 a perfect shoe for just about any activity… especially golf!

Though you can expect a full review to follow in a few weeks, I wanted to share some of my photos of the first major new release from TRUE Linkswear in 2019 - the Major - and to share what I learned about TRUE's plans for 2019.

As many of you know, TRUE burst onto the scene in 2010 with the TRUE Tour. The Tour was a "minimalist" golf shoe - wide toe box, no heel drop, flexible and lightweight, very little "structure" or "support" - that provided a breath of fresh air in golf.

They followed up the Tour with some other shoes, and then followed those up with some other shoes that weren't really all that good, chasing the retail game instead of sticking to their well received niche - comfortable, stylish golf shoes that have a minimalist angle to them, sold mostly direct-to-consumer and with great customer service and support.

Before I get to my first impressions, here are some notes about where TRUE is headed in the first half of 2019…

I spent the better part of two days conducting this test last summer. I tested a few situations.

Johnny Miller's Legacy - is it as a player or a broadcaster?

Who is on your version of golf's Mount Rushmore?

I didn't include an "I don't know" in the choices in the poll above because that's the only answer any of us should choose. Hell, even Tiger and Joe himself don't necessarily know if he's the best choice - Tiger just uses the available information to arrive at a decision.

But I've been thinking for awhile now that LaCava may not be the best for him.

Here is the video:

Here are some photos from the video:


I thought watching live (well, watching the first time, recorded on my DVR later in the evening) that he had improved his lie. You can certainly see more of the ball after he soles his club than before.

But I'm leaning toward "inconclusive."

This type of activity reportedly occurs frequently on the PGA Tour and people look the other way all the time.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/tiger-confidential-what-pros-really-say-about-tigers-chances-at-the-masters

What fascinated me about that article is the breadth and scope of the opinions, the sheer variety. Others correctly point out, for example, that even after a layoff in 2010, he came out and finished T4. Then two quotes later someone is saying he has no chance.

Tiger. Rory. Speith. Strongest field in a very very long time in Tampa this coming week. Supposed to be very windy with rain chances on Sunday. I'll be in attendance on Friday. For a Florida course, Copperhead is quite hilly. Will be a very interesting week.

Lexi Thompson missed a two-foot putt to lose Player of the Year honors today.