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The Dumbest Golf Product at the 2012 Boston Golf Expo

doug — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:35:47 +0000

Want to know what this year’s dumbest golf product is from the 2012 Boston Golf Expo golf show? Well, here’s who gets highest honors.

I’m always surprised at how really dumb some golf products are. Keep in mind, it’s only my opinion, and I apologize in advance if someone thinks this is the coolest thing since sliced “organic” bread.

Drumroll please . . .the product that gets highest honors is something called a “Teecil.” It’s a golf tee that has a pencil at the end you put into the ground – hence, the Teecil name.

So what am I missing here? I just don’t get why the hell ANYONE would want this product. I can see it as sort of a gag gift but I don’t think the “inventors” of the product think of it that way.

Do you think Phil or Tiger or Rory is going to be using a Teecil? It’s even hard to write about it. I mean, really . . . a tee with a friggin pencil built into it??!!

I feel like I entered the Twilight zone when first seeing it. There were a number of people in/next to their booth but mostly I saw people laughing or chuckling.

Ok, so I admitted, I don’t really get it. Like I said, maybe it’s me – maybe I’m missing the boat completely.

What about you? What do YOU think? comment here or via Twitter: @golfdash

PS: They have a very nice website all set and ready to take orders.

Check them out here: www.teecil.com

Re-Generate Your Golf Muscles Using a Foam Roller

doug — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:36:32 +0000

If you have never used a foam roller on your muscles you’re in for a real “tortuous” experience. I almost guarantee you’ll be wincing, cursing and feeling pain like you haven’t in some time. Fun, fun.

So why on Earth would you do this? To get the damn knots and adhesions out of your muscles and bring your tissue back to it’s original length.

See, your muscles, in some way, represent a rubber band. It has a certain length to it, so, for example, if you tie the rubber band in a knot it only gets tighter and more uncomfortable. Then you have to use your hands to really work out the knot and soothe your tight facia tissue to it’s original length.

What exactly is fascia?

“The superficial fascia is a soft connective tissue located just below the skin. It wraps and connects the muscles, bones, nerves and blood vessels of the body. Together, muscle and fascia make up what is called the myofascia system. For various reasons including disuse, not enough stretching, or injuries, the fascia and the underlying muscle tissue can become stuck together. This is called an adhesion and it results in restricted muscle movement. It also causes pain, soreness and reduced flexibility or range of motion” (reference: Elizabeth Quinn)

These knots (or adhesions) can result due to inactivity or repetitive stress. The good news is that using a foam roller can really restore your muscles so they become like they once were – more supple, pliable and functional.

Foam rolling, of course, most resembles massage. By using compression (your weight) you roll your various body areas over an extremely hard piece of foam.

The deep compression causes your nerves to relax and unwind, loosens muscle, increases blood flow, and assists your body recover. Said another way, foam rolling can alleviate soreness, make your muscles feel better and regenerate your muscles to their original suppleness.

Keep in mind, if you do feel intense painful spots as your foam rolling, then it’s actually good news because you have some areas that stand to benefit greatly from using it.

See, if the muscle(s) does not return to it’s normal resting length and you don’t flush out some of those nasty by-products that sit in the tissues, adhesions and scar tissue will develop over time.

What will likely happen is a noticeable decrease in your mobility. This is particular troublesome for golfers (really any athlete) so it makes sense to plan foam rolling and massage into your golf conditioning and maintenance program.

Buy a foam roller here:

Gaiam Stretch & Strength Foam Roller Kit

The Grid Revolutionary Foam Roller

Here are a few helpful foam roller videos:

Top 5 Foam Roller Exercises

Foam Roller Stretches for Therapy

How to release trigger points in your piriformis

Top photo by: Erik Isakson

Golf Potpourri

doug — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:54:56 +0000

Well, thank God LeBron has a new home now (Miami Heat) so we can be less distracted with his circus and on to more exciting things – like what’s going on in golf!

All sorts of stuff! Yesterday 46 year old tour veteran Paul Goydas threw up an amazing 59 on his first round at the John Deere Classic – That’s 12 birdies! and get this – Steve Stricker shot a 60 with the chance to tie his 59 on the last hole! Talk about throwing darts! There were lots of low scores so this tourney looks to be super low scoring and extremely fun to watch.

Of course, the 2010 US Women’s Open also launched it’s open day at Oakmont Country Club and what is speculated to be one of the toughest tests of golf in it’s history. Currently Brittany Lang is the leader at -2. MJ Hur and Inbee Park are tied at -1. Runaway LPGA Championship winner Christie Kerr is closely behind at +1. Teenage phenom Alexis Thompson shot a very respectable 73. The ever unpredictable Michelle Wie shot 82 and was tied at 130th.

One of my favorite majors of the year, the Open Championship, is right around the corner at the hallowed grounds of St Andrews. With all the ultra manicured courses we have and see week-to-week on the PGA tour it is just so refreshing to see links golf and all the unique strategy involved. Who knows maybe Tom Watson can revive a little more magic this year.

My Golf Dash partner, John, mentioned a swing training aid in a recent post called Grab Bag and Random Thoughts. It’s called the SwingRite. It was surprising to me as I never heard of the thing before but apparently it has been around since the 1960′s. Anyway I called John and discussed it with him and he highly recommended it. So I went out and bought one. All I can say is since using it I had one of my best front nines of the year (a 37). So check it out. If you have any questions about it just comment on this post and I will be glad to provide any feedback I can.

Finally, I played Red Tail Golf Course in Devens MA last weekend on one of the most gloriest golf days you could ask for. Had a very mixed round with a good front and terrible back. Ended up shooting 87. Red Tail is really a beautiful course and I highly recommend it if you are out in this area. My only issue is the fee. It costs $99 to play and in my opinion, it is too high a fee for this caliber of a course. I played on a mid Saturday morning and the place was practically dead. They really need to re-think their pricing.

One thing they do that I like and that members of my foursome are involved with is they have some called a Hawk Membership – again the price is not cheap, $850, but you save a bit and this entitles you to 10 rounds of golf and a few other perks. I wish a number of courses in my area (Western Ma) would do these types of “mini-memberships” I definitely applaud their innovative thinking about how to re-package memberships and limited memberships.

No related posts.

Learning Aids for Amateur Golfers

John — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:38:23 +0000

I know what you’re thinking, if there was really ‘A Way’ to get better in golf, some guy or gal out there would be richer than Tiger. You couldn’t build a practice facility big enough to hold all the people who’d be throwing money your way.

In spite of that reasoning, I do believe that major improvements for golfers are just around the corner. We, or at least the golfing scientists among us, are really starting to understand what goes on in the golf swing thanks to high tech analysis tools.

But it’s going to take time for it all this knowledge to trickle down. New younger pros are going to have to come along who have grown up with this knowledge. The average golfer is going to have to see the high man in his weekly foresome take 15 strokes off his handicap in a season while still using the ‘same old driver’.

And look at the video swing analysis they use during pro tournament broadcasts. That technology isn’t out of reach of your local pro. Once he sees his club golfers flocking to take lessons from the guy down the street who has the new gizmos, he won’t be able to buy it fast enough.

And speaking of gizmos, why hasn’t someone invented a biofeedback device for golfers? OK, there are a few things that vaguely look like biofeedback. But I’m talking the real thing here, something that would make a psychologist proud.

Take the club back too far to the inside and you get zapped. Use enough juice and you could stop Godzilla from coming over the top.

Anybody who’s interested in where this new technology might be heading ought to check out the Carl Rabito training videos on the Golf Channel Web Site. Now here’s a guy who knows golf, human anatomy and has access to state of the art scientific tools.

You might just understand for the first time in your life why your slice is sticking to you better than one of those things you get from your nose. And you might just be able to get rid of it – finally and for good.

GolfDash Hot List

doug — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:17:51 +0000

So I added a new section on our blog which I think is pretty cool. It’s called the GolfDash Hot List.

It actually aggregates all the “hottest” golf items being auctioned on Ebay. Really some fascinating stuff. I mean, check out the number of bids (and the amount of people watching)!

The auction changes continuously so be sure to check back often to see whats HOT.

Note: in interest of full disclosure I am NOT an Ebay affiliate and make nothing (that’s right, zilch!) if you purchase something via this section. Who knows – maybe that will change in the future – and if it does you will be the first to know. I just like the script and how it aggregates only the “hottest” golf items.

Pride Golf Tees Review

John — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:44:46 +0000

I suppose it’s not glamorous to review golf tees. It’s certainly more attention getting to talk about the latest in drivers or putters.

But don’t be fooled because a golf tee seems so innocuous. It’s an important part of the game and golf tees are not all created equal.

If you shop golf tees then you know there’s a lot of marketing around ‘less friction’, the idea being that less friction between the tee and the ball means more distance.

I suppose it’s technically true, but it’s impact on the game pales in comparison to much larger forces like hitting the ball off the toe or heel instead of the sweet spot. But that doesn’t mean that the tee is unimportant, particularly when playing woods.

The height of the ball is critical in making good contact. Why would you think you could hit the ball consistently if you were off by as much as a half inch every time you teed it up.

Wouldn’t it make sense to use a system that allowed you to tee it up to the exact height needed every time. Let’s take the driver, keeping in mind that the same applies to fairway woods and even hybrids.

I don’t tee my ball for the driver the same all the time because of changing conditions and the need to hit shots differently. However, given the same conditions and the same desired trajectory I want the ball to be at the same height.

There are elaborate tee solutions out there to insure that a tee goes into the ground always at the same height, but they have significant drawbacks in the real world. You might need 4 or 5 different tee heights when playing, but what a pain to try and carry all these in your pocket.

For my money, I like the solution that Pride Golf has come up with. Their tees look like ordinary wooden golf tees, except that they have a band of color printed on them. This band acts as a reference point and insures that you get the same height every time.

For my driver I set up with the band all showing, half showing or all hidden to have three consistent tee heights. When I played in Scotland under windy conditions, this came in extremely handy depending on what direction the wind was blowing.

When I wanted a low flight into the wind, I made sure the band of color was in the ground. When I wanted to ride a wind at my back, I made sure that all the color band was showing.

If you start teeing the ball up consistently you will have eliminated one more variable from a game that has so many. It’s one less thing in your setup to worry about. Every pro knows that a great golf shot starts with their setup which explains why they work on this as much as any aspect of their game.

Check out Pride Golf tees, they are easy to find. They don’t cost any more than regular tees and I know they’ll help you be more consistent.

The Cool Masters iPhone App

doug — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:06:06 +0000

Masters iPhone Application

Attention all you iPhoners! You can now download (for free) this very cool Masters app for your iPhone.

Heck, why not one more reason to have the Masters close at hand (literally). I just downloaded it and am pretty impressed with the User Interface. I will be using it for sure.

Here is the application description and some of the key features:

Application Description
For the first time in history, The Master Tournament is offering this live video and live scoring application for the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, from April 9-April 12, 2009.

Key Features
Live video from the Masters Tournament. This exclusive coverage includes Amen Corner (holes no. 11, 12, and 13) hole no. 15 and16, and Masters Extra (bonus 1 hour pre-telecast coverage) On Demand Video Highlights will be available at the end of each day. All video will be viewable with Edge, 3G, and WiFi connections.

Live video is available to view in the United States only

Leader Board
LIVE scoring, pairings and tee times, and player information from the Masters Tournament. (see image below)

Course
Full course map, with par and yardage for each of the Masters Tournament prestigious 18 holes. See the course yourself with flyover videos.

Settings
Select your connection: Edge, 3G, WiFi

Languages
English

Requirements
Compatible with iPhone abd iPod Touch. Requires iPhone 2.0 Software Update.

Head on over to the app store (via Itunes) to download. See this page for more info:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore/

The Masters Tournament iPhone Application

Looking for Golf DVDs?

doug — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:42:29 +0000

If you’re like me, your are always on the lookout for good, interesting golf dvds.

I love golf movies, golf instructional videos, golf historical pieces, golf documentaries, you name it I will watch it. Of course, not all are exceptional but many are.

Recently I ordered a Johnny Miller instructional dvd. In his day, Johnny was one of the premier iron players on tour. He had this uncanny ability to just throw darts at the pin. Now like him or not, he had game and knows a thing or two about swing a golf club. So why not check out what he has to say?

Even one, tiny distinction can make the difference in your game. Just last year I received a breakthrough idea that made all the difference for me (although I did not receive it from a video) Read about it here: My 2008 Golfing “Tip of the Year”

In thinking about all these fabulous golf dvds I decided to put together a small page of them. Check them out and see if anything piques your interest. Let me know if I missed any of your favorites or any you recommend.

The page is under the tab on the top of the GolfDash Blog called “Golf Resources” ( I think I need to change this!) or can be found by clicking the link below:

GolgDash Blog recommended DVD’s.

PS: My next purchase I will be getting will be: The Ben Hogan Collection

No related posts.

Video Review: The Golfing Caddy

doug — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:00:38 +0000

Get one here: www.bvtproducts.com

You Need A New Pair Of Golf Shoes

John — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:26:47 +0000

I walk most of my rounds of golf and I play on a lot of hilly courses. By the time I’m finished my feet can’t wait for the moment of ecstasy when the shoes come off. I’ve worn a lot of different brands of golf shoes in my day and I can’t say I’ve ever found one that’s as comfortable as a good sneaker or walking shoe.

It must have something to do with those spikes on the bottom. It feels like most of my weight is being supported by those little suckers as they dig into the sole of my foot.

I also do a lot of trail hiking over hill and dale and my feet don’t ache nearly as much as they do after a round of golf. All this got me to thinking that if I could find a good hiking type shoe for golfing I’d feel much better at the end of my round.

So I looked in sporting goods stores for something that would be comfortable, give me great support, be waterproof and allow me to hit golf balls in all conditions without slipping. That last item is particularly important. I’ve discovered over the years that soft spikes have a lot of drawbacks in that area.

Try playing with the grass wet, right after a mowing and see how long it takes for your spikes to be useless because they’re completely clogged. You’ve been there, so you know that point comes about 10 feet up the first fairway. It’s even more of a problem with dead leaves if you play in the Fall.

I chose a trail-running shoe which is basically a cross between a hiking boot and a sneaker. They’re low cut, waterproof and have a very aggressive tread. After all, if you’re going to run through the woods, up and down over rocks, you can’t be slipping and sliding.

I ended up buying the North Face Ultra 104 Gore-Tex XCR trail running shoe from REI. Thankfully it’s easier to buy than say. I’m in love. I’ve only worn my golf shoes once this season since I bought these babies and that’s because I was playing as a guest at a fancy club and didn’t want to embarrass my host.

When I finish a round I no longer sprint to the car to change my shoes. Because they’re Gore-Tex lined and made for the trail, they can take any kind of watery conditions on the course with ease. And I’ve never had a problem with slipping, even standing on a dewy hillside hitting a ball below my feet. I’m not going back to golf shoes until the manufacturers start thinking outside the box.

Today’s golf shoes may look stylish, but they leave a lot to be desired when it comes to function. Footjoy, Ecco and the rest, go send your R&D people to the local camping store and combine the best of both worlds into a modern stylish, comfortable and practical golf shoe. And don’t forget to leave those silly little plastic things off the bottom. They last about 2 rounds at best and don’t work at all when it’s wet or it’s Fall.