Equipment Review-Sunglasses

OK, so this review might not be about clubs, shoes or golf bags; but it is about another important piece of equipment that golfers should consider.....sunglasses.


I have a thing for sunglasses. It is almost similar to the thing my wife has for purses or shoes. I have always been a fan of Oakley and I must say that they make some of the best looking sunglasses on the market, but there are plenty of competitors. A competitor you might not have heard of is Tifosi Optics. I needed a new pair of golf shades for this year as I had gone without golf shades for a few months now. Well, I decided to check with Tifosi and see what models they had available. I came across these bad boys:

Now, you might look at these and say they don't look like golf shades as the lenses are bright red. Well, you would be correct. The good thing is when you purchase a pair of Tifosi you will most likely be looking at a pair of interchangeable shades. I ordered this pair from http://www.athleticshades.com/ and got the exact frame with the smoke red lenses that are included along with the three interchangeable golf lenses that come with it. I got all of that for $80, four lenses and a pair of shades.

I must say that this isn't my first pair of Tifosi shades. I will say that the options you get with lenses give you flexibility of the different conditions you face on the course. If you order the Golf/Tennis package with the shades you get a EC (Extreme Contrast), GT (Golf/Tennis) and AC (All Condition Red). The extreme contrast will block 100% of UVA/UVB rays and it will block the blue light spectrum. In lay mans terms it will help you every subtle lay on the ground, by making it clearer and easier to see. The GT lenses will make greens brighter and it also is created to help you pick up your ball in flight. I also feel that when I use the GT lenses it helps me to read the contours of the green much easier than without my shades. The AC is about what you would think....it is great for all conditions.

The comfortability of the shades is magnificent as well. I have purchased some shades that once you wear them for a long period of time they wear on your ears, but these are extremely comfortable and the padding is soft, but durable.

The lenses provide optimum coverage of your face. The Ventoux, which is the brad I went with, has great coverage, but if you prefer a more free lense that covers everything you might want to look at the Pave, Slip or Tyrant.

Overall, for the cost of the sunglasses you get exactly what you pay for. I would much rather spend $80 and get a pair of shades and four lenses than paying $200+ for a pair of shades with one set lense I can't change out. Tifosi is a company that you don't hear about often, but I do my best to get their name out there as they should be more noticeable in the golf world with all of the options they have available.

If you are into other things like hunting and racing you might want to check out the options they have available for that genre. If you would like to check out their website check below as I have included it with my post. Also, I must say http://www.athleticshades.com/ is great. I ordered my sunglasses on Friday and they were in my mailbox on Tuesday of the next week.

I highly suggest you check out http://www.tifosioptics.com/ and give them a try. You might come away more surprised than you think!

Hit 'em Straight!

Thoughts on the Masters

Well, it has been quite a few weeks since I have had a chance to post a blog entry. Right now, I sit in my hotel in Chicago, IL where it is cold and rainy so I thought what better a time to post my thoughts on what went down at Augusta this past week.

Now, being from the Bluegrass state I must say that my heart goes out to Kenny Perry. While I was one of the many who was hoping to see Tiger come back to Augusta and pull out the victory, I must say when you see a hometown fellow on the top of the leader board it is hard not to root for him.

I know it has to be hard for Kenny looking back on the way the whole event unfolded. He pretty much had the jacket on, but just could not close it out. I know in the post game interviews he said average players don't get it done and that he is an average player, but I don't think that one bit. Kenny has put together a couple of solid years and has had a solid career. Does he have as many wins as Tiger or Phil? No, but who does, those guys are in league all their own.

I commend Kenny on his honorable comments he made and the fact that he wasn't a sore loser. I know it had to be hard to stomach what had just happened and of course all of the reporters where right there to ask how he felt and I would say if I was in his shoes my response would not have been as pleasant.

You also have to give Angel Cabrera a lot of credit. He played some fantastic golf on one of the toughest courses out there and when the door swung open he took advantage of every opportunity and finally finished off the competition.

I can guarantee you that no one expected this tournament to finish with Angel Cabrera, Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell dueling it out in a playoff to decide the Masters.

All in all, the Masters was great. We saw a classic finish and the event that went on between Tiger and Phil on Sunday was what everyone wants to see between the two.

All I can say is lets see what the next major holds for us. I just hope Kenny gets that major he has evaded his career before he leaves the PGA Tour.

Hit 'em Straight!

Tis' the beginning of the season

So as I type this entry we are only 9 days from Spring. Now I know the weather in Kentucky wont be just right for a month or so, but we are starting to get the weather that we have longed for.

Even with the positive weather I haven't officially declared the beginning of the season, but I will say that it is drawing near. Luckily, the weather here this past weekend allowed me to play a few rounds of golf. I actually took off from work on Friday to play and I was glad that I did. I felt like playing both Friday and then again on Saturday morning allowed me to reset my mind and focus my thoughts on my golf game instead of work!

Currently, we are experiencing a decline in the temps today and the forecast is expected to be cooler over the next few days, but the 60's will be back next week and this will allow a few more rounds of golf.

I must say that this year offers more promise than ever for my golf game. I have started the year off with decent results. My driver, which was a nemesis last year, has really come around and I am growing more and more accurate with my irons. I feel that if I can stay on the path I am on then I might have one of my best years yet.

There is one slight problem though....I am coaching summer league baseball again! I did this last year and it required a lot of time, but I think after coming out of retirement to coach (I know I am only 28, but I had been out of coaching baseball for a few years) I will have an easier time balancing coaching and golf. Right now, I think the best thing to do is take it day by day and that is what I plan to do.

As for equipment changes this year, I don't foresee any. I had been tempted by the r9, but after hearing today of the r9 Max already in the works I have decided that there is no reason to change my driver when a new version of the r9 will be out soon and the prices will drop, plus I am hitting my Nickent 4DX great at the moment. The driver was the only club considered for change, but since that wont be happening I might look at replacing my old Nike CPR hybrid that I have.

Enough about my game, I hope everyone set their DVR's or plops in front of the TV this weekend to see how Tiger fares in the WGC-CA Championship. It will also be interesting to see if Sergio can overthrow Tiger at #1. There is a chance, but when it is all said and done on Sunday I think Tiger will remain in the top spot.

Hit 'em straight!

The Economy and Golf

Well, as we all know the economy is at the worst point we have seen it in a while. I know our new President says we will get out of this, but in my daily job I have seen the new Housing and Recovery act and I don't think rewarding people who don't make their payments a $5,000 principal reduction on their mortgage over 5 years if they can make a payment under a modification is fair to those of us who make our payments, but that is another story.

Sad thing is we are beginning to see the true effects of the economical downturn in golf. Today, I read an article discussing the liquidation of Macgregor's product. We all knew the time was coming for Macgregor with the departure of Bobby Grace and the CEO of the company. Macgregor has struggled to keep up with the big dog OEM's over the past few years and it has now caught up with them. The real question is what OEM's could be next? Well, here's a few I think we could see out of the game sometime throughout the year:

1. Nickent Golf-While I love their clubs, they just don't have the market share to keep up with other OEM's. I own a Nickent driver and it is just as good as any other driver I have used, but when people see Taylor Made, Callaway, Nike or any of the other OEM's you pull away from Nickent and it is a company you don't see at every shop.

2. Tour Edge-A smaller company that has decent equipment, but like Nickent it isn't seen in every store. The other issue I have with Tour Edge is the Exotics line and the other line of Tour Edge equipment are so distant in comparison. I think the Exotics equipment is over priced. I am not saying it isn't good, but you can get something just as good for a cheaper price. The rest of their equipment....well, if you like hybrid wedges then this is your company. I just can't see them selling much this year.

3. Wilson Staff-I don't know if they will go under, but their offerings are nothing near the competition. The prices are very reasonable, but the irons are the only thing that have gotten good reviews. The drivers and fairways are not top of the line. The lack of multiple tour players using the equipment will hurt as well. I think we could see this company dwindle throughout the year.

The other problem at hand with the economy is the withdraw of sponsors from PGA Tour events. A perfect example is FBR. You may remember that just a mere few weeks ago the FBR Open was on TV and the crowds were as raucous as usual, but news today says that FBR has pulled out as sponsor for the event.

I can only imagine with the banks and other financial institutions that sponsor PGA Tour events that this will become a common thing in sports news. I wouldn't be surprised to see more and more sponsors pull their sponsorship of events. How will this effect the game? Who knows. We currently haven't been able to project what would happen with the market so I won't even speculate how this will effect the tour.

It is definitely not a great time in our world, but remember it could always be worse. Only time will help our current situation and I think it will take more time than most people expect. I just feel that our country is pining on rewarding people for irresponsible. Until we do the exact opposite we are in for a rough time.

On a more positive note, Tiger will return to action tomorrow when he tees off at 2:02 PM EST. Good luck Tiger. I expect some big things from him this year. I know it is good for the game!

Hit 'em straight!

He's back......

Well, as everyone surely knows by now, Tiger has announced his return for the Accenture Match Play next week. I can't say I am surprised he would be back this soon. We all know how hard Tiger works at keeping his body in great shape so you can only imagine how hard he worked during therapy to recover.

I must say that I am excited to see him back on the course, but a part of me wonders how well the knee will hold up. Needless to say, I will be glued to the TV on Wednesday of next week to see what happens. Good luck Tiger!

Here is a link to article on pgatour.com if you are interested: http://www.pgatour.com/r/tiger_archive/index.html

GPS Acquisitions

Now I love golf equipment more than most people, but I also have a thing for technology. I am one of those people who love to see new and cool products come out and then I love to buy them and tinker with them.

When you combine the two things I love then I go crazy which is why I love golf gps units. I own a golf gps unit and I love the thing. I don't just love it for the technology side, but I love the fact that I can get yardages to exact spots on the course no matter where I am.

I own an iGolf Neo, which is one of the most affordable gps units on the market. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the uPro or Skycaddie, but it gets the job done and it gets it done at under $150 which is the best part.

Two of the companies I mentioned above though have had some big news in the past few weeks. I noticed on the web a few days ago about a couple major acquisitions that were made.

Here are the links to the press releases:

http://igolf.com/igolfnewsfiles/51_Bushnell_Partnership___iGolf_FINAL_version.pdf

http://ir.callawaygolf.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=68083&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1240523&highlight

Now if you want to read those go ahead, but let me sum it up for you. Callaway recently went out and acquired uPlay which is the company that released the increasingly popular uPro gps unit. The uPro provides the user with flyovers of the hole much like what you see on Sunday at the final round of a PGA Tour event on CBS (this feature costs extra though).

Now, I really like Callaway's thoughts on this. They already have a rangefinder in the inventory so why not add a gps unit? Why not add the gps unit with the most hype? I really think with the Callaway backing and logo this gps unit will begin to sell more and more than what it has in months past. Not only that, but I think you will see become more readily available in local shops with the Callaway backing.

The first link I have of the two covers Bushnell's recent acquisition of iGolf. Now we all know Bushnell is famous for their rangefinders, but they recently entered the golf gps market with their Yardage Pro which used iGolf's gps mapping to provide distances.

Now as I said I am a customer of iGolf and while I will say there products are fabulous and very affordable they still lack in a few areas. Customer service is an area where improvement is much needed and maybe with the Bushnell acquisition this will aid in that area. I also believe that the Bushnell name will help provide more face time for the iGolf units than the iGolf name did. In fact, iGolf recently launched two new units the Saturn, a full color gps that provides hole layout, and the Triton, a black and white unit that is more full featured than the Neo. I really think with the changes in the products name that you will begin to see more and more of their products as well.

All in all, the two acquisitions will benefit both acquiring party and the party acquired. This will allow more people to see the uPro technology and iGolf technology while giving both Callaway and Bushnell more products to attack the market share owned by Skycaddie and other gps units.

On a side note, if you have never tried a golf gps unit go out and give one a go. I think you might really enjoy the benefits it gives you.

Hit 'em straight!

Super Cool Golf Sites!

OK so that is a really cheesy heading, isn't it? Well, I was having writers block for the moment.

So are you ever sitting around at the computer wondering if there are any golf sites on the web that you could pay a visit to, but you aren't sure which sites to visit? Well, I have a few great sites to visit!

Let's get started.......

1. http://www.14stix.com/

I don't know how many of you have ever visited 14stix.com, but this is a neat site. If you ever visited woot.com and you love golf then 14stix.com is perfect for you.

Basically, 14stix.com has a deal of the day and it is a different deal each day. I check this site on a regular basis and they have some great deals. The site is very functional as well. I love the fact that they let you know exactly how many items are remaining for sale.

I just recently found out about 14stix.com and I have followed it every day since then. I highly suggest that each and everyone of you should check out this site!

2. http://www.mygolfspy.com/

Are you longing for photos of clubs you haven't seen? What about products that aren't even out yet? Well, if you answered yes to either one of those questions then this site is a must visit.

mygolfspy.com provides a daily updated blog that follows the ins and outs of the golf world. A majority of their blog entries cover golf clubs or golf products for every golfer. I know, that for myself, I have found plenty of useful knowledge about golf products that I wasn't aware of.

The big thing for me is their special articles. I have read so many great "how to" articles on mygolfspy.com. This is another must see site!

3. http://www.golfwrx.com/

Do you like forums? If you like both forums and golf then this is the best golf forum in the world! I have been a member with GolfWRX for a while now and I visit the site on a daily...well hourly basis.

This site is chock full of tons of information. Bag pictures from tournaments? Check. Swing tips? Check. Club making info? Check. Tour news? Check. The list goes on and on!

Another great feature is the for sale part of the forum. I have made a few purchases for my golf bag on the site. You can find great deals from people who are looking to offload their equipment and you can get that for a great price.

A golf addict could waste many a hours a day on GolfWRX! It is definitely worth the visit, but if you get hooked it isn't my fault.

4. http://www.stracka.com/

Stracka is a very nice website that I discovered about four months ago. Stracka combines blogs, forums, stat tracking, handicaps, etc. all into one package. The blogs are a great way to speak your mind if you don't feel like starting your own blog page. They are also great for getting your blog out there in the golfing community.

The forums are average, but they aren't the main focus. I really enjoy the ability to track stats while I am on the course. If you have a cell phone with the ability to connect to the web you can post your score, GIR and fairways hit all while you play via their mobile app. It is really great to do that while you play.

They recently introduced handicap clubs, which is a great feature, if you are travel golfer like I am. I play so many different courses that this allows me to start a golf club on their site with a minimum of 10 people and establish a legit USGA handicap. You will still have to have a handicap chair, which means they have to take the test, but I have taken the test it is a piece of cake.

Stracka.com's wealth of options can keep you busy for hours. If you are looking for stat tracking and online handicaps with a little flair of Myspace for the golfing world then check out Stracka today!

These four sites should give you hours of fun so I will leave you with these four for the moment.

Hit 'em Straight!