 |
 |
|
|
|
||
|
||||
|
||||
|
 |
Golf Show: Good Work If You Can Get ItWriter Narrowly Avoids Having To Golf In His BoxersJames Stammer, Contributing WriterFebruary 10, 2001, 9:04 p.m. EST ORLANDO, Fla. -- For many sports fans the end of January is a time to party. The Super Bowl is the biggest event of the New Year and nearly everyone is ready to celebrate. With Florida hosted the big game this year, every city in the state was primed to party.
For golfers however, there was an even bigger and better reason to break out the chips and beer, the PGA of America's annual Merchandise Show in Orlando.
Held in the Orange County Convention Center each year, the Merchandise Show takes up every square inch of the Center's one million-plus square feet of floor space. More than 12 miles of carpet are laid out to form the aisles between companies.
Manufacturers of everything from golf balls to bags to shirts to furniture to mowing equipment to exercise machines to energy drinks and more are on hand. Anything to do with golf -- and even a few things that you swear do not -- can surely be found here. Many manufacturers, and there were more than 1500 on hand this year, wait until the show to pull the wraps off of their latest designs.
As a writer who has covered the show for the past five years, is was time to come up with a new and creative angle to cover it. Since some of my fellow media and I were playing golf after attending the show, my quest was to play golf with them using just the items that I could acquire there. Unless I wanted to play in my boxers, I had to find some great companies and products to assist me.
The Resort
We arrived on Thursday and checked into Oasis Lakes Resort, our host for the next four days. We planted ourselves in a luxurious two-bedroom condo overlooking Lake Eve on International Drive just minutes from Sea World, Universal Studios, and all the action.
We were treated like kings, taking full advantage of the resort's many amenities during our stay. We swam in a heated pool, relaxed in the sauna and shot pool. I especially liked the whirlpool tub in my huge master suite, which came in quite handy after a day walking the show. We even enjoyed the Super Bowl on a 35" television and cooked a feast in the fully stocked kitchen.
The Merchandise Show
We arrived at the show on Friday and quickly went to work, visiting many of the companies that had responded to my plea for help. Everyone was great, hoping to get their products into the hands of the media and the masses. By the end of the show I had enough equipment to play golf, and thankfully had clothes to wear. Unfortunately I did not get a pair of pants, and I instead played in my rain pants thanks to Frogg Toggs.
The Golf Course
Champions Gate, located just south of Orlando on I-4, was host to our little media event. This newest Greg Norman design, the centerpiece for a planned development of over 1,200 acres, features a pair of distinctly different courses and the David Leadbetter Golf Academy. We would tee it up on the International Course, a beautiful and unique links-style course, reminiscent to those found in Scotland and Ireland, that plays a mere 7,363 yards from the tips. With huge waste areas and nearly 200 bunkers on the track, our handicaps were certain to take a beating.
To protect my skin from a beating in the Florida sun, I applied PreSun Sunscreen to protect me from UVA and UVB rays. No matter how bad I may play, I hope to look good when I'm done.
Warmup
On my head was a Blu Bandoo Cooling Headwear hat. These hats are made with a gel in the headband that, when soaked in water, provide you with cooling relief throughout any activity. A must for summer golf.
On my feet were Ecco shoes. These Danish shoes are probably the most comfortable I have ever worn. With a Gore-Tex membrane my feet would stay dry and fresh for the next five plus hours. I owe a special thanks to For Bare Feet Originals for coming through with a pair of socks to help my feet enjoy my new shoes.
Protecting my eyes were a pair of Swiss Eye Wear sunglasses. The yellow lenses brought out the greens and contours on the course and came in quite handy as the sun went down late in my round.
As it turned out, I wasn't the only one who wanted to test my new clubs. My media friends decided to test them out to find out just what kind of advantage I was going to have. Between my friends and the other golfers warming up at the range, I had to keep a close eye on my new goods for fear that they would find a different home.
The Front Nine
As I drove to the first tee, I placed a few Gary Player Golf balls in my pocket and an Evertan Glove on my hand. My first bag, Piggy Back by Classic Finish Golf, was home to a Liquidmetal driver, a Kasco K2K 22 fairway wood, a Middle Club 3, a Wedgewood Gold IR Series 5I9W, Paax Irons, and a SeeMore putter. As an added measure against rain, I packed a huge Birdie Pal umbrella.
To track my game, I turned on my new Stat Tracker II. With this hand-held item, I could keep track of my drives-in-fairway, driving distance, greens-in-regulation, up-and-downs for par, sand saves, putts, penalty strokes and more. And I could keep these stats for everyone in our group.
My first official shot of the day was with a Liquidmetal driver. The first swing of the day sent the ball straight and true well down the middle of the fairway on the par-4 hole. This club is a keeper.
Champions Gate certainly lives up to its claim to be unlike any other course in Orlando. The beauty of the course lies in the stark contrasts between fairways and waste areas. There is no rough. You are either in the short grass or in some sort of sand.
My Piggy Back bag was put to the test early. The bag features a cart bag along with a small stand bag. If you need to walk to your ball or wish to walk the hole, put the clubs that you want in the carry bag and off you go. The rest stay firmly attached to the cart.
The seventh hole is my favorite, possibly because it marks the end of an extremely tough series of holes. The par-4, 447-yard hole has huge sand mounds framing each side and water to the right off the tee. The green sits just over a pond with more of those sand dunes to the right and behind.
By the time I reached the eighth tee, I was finding my game. I had figured out that the clubs were working well and the guy in the other end of the grip just needed to relax.
I also found out why so many golfers are replacing their long irons with Kasco K2Ks, Middle Clubs and Wedgewoods. These clubs are super. They offer the forgiveness and comfort of a wood, with the high soft-landing trajectory of a mid to short iron. With a little practice, one could become deadly from long-range with these.
The Back Nine
For my final nine holes, I made a few changes. I changed shirts, going with one from Double Eagle Golf Apparel. My second bag, appropriately named the Back Nine by Sun Mountain became the new home to my clubs. I filled the bag's many pockets with balls, some snacks, a windshirt and tees. All the pockets face outward, allowing you to leave the bag on the cart at all times. The design even puts the longer clubs in the back, allowing easier access to your short irons and putter.
A few clubs were rotated into the bag to shake things up a bit. A new driver, the Riccochet by Orbiter, a C-Groove putter, Srixon golf balls, and a black Gary Player glove joined me for the rest of the day. I was hoping that the black glove would intimidate my opponents.
The back nine played a little easier than the front, most likely because the wind was now at our backs. Or it may have been the cigars. What round would be complete without a nice cigar? Thanks to Havana Honeys Cigars, we all enjoyed a smooth smoke to top off our round. If only I could have gotten the Honeys to caddie for us.
To be honest, I had never considered using oversize irons. I was wrong. The oversize Paax Olympus 2000 irons in my bag certainly helped my game. These Australian irons are new to the U.S. and warrant a look-see. My usual misses flew straight and lost little distance.
Srixon latest golf balls have everything. They provide great feel without sacrificing distance. Orbiter's new driver, the Riccochet, was extremely straight and its barely-legal face adds distance to your best swings.
The C Groove putter worked very well on long putts, as the grooves help the ball get rolling more quickly and stay on line. I even tested out the new Pureflight Wise One putter. This putter provided buttery soft feel no matter what ball I used. For those shots around the greens and from the numerous bunkers I seemed to find myself in, the new Mizuno MP Series wedge came in quite handy. The grain flow-forged 58-degree wedge gave me wonderful feel and feedback on my toughest shots.
By the end of the day I came to a great conclusion. The latest and greatest in golf technology deserves a serious look. Technology may not be able to turn us into Tiger beaters, but it will help us to enjoy the game more.
For me, my annual trek to the show was a blast. For you, it allows the representatives from your favorite shop or course the ability to provide you with the best product at the best possible cost. It also gives us the opportunity to tell you about great products that you otherwise may have overlooked. Take a look at the products and companies that helped me with my "quest". All of them not only have great products, but the desire to help you and me play our best.
Contact Info:
Copyright 2000 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I arrived at the course a little early, allowing myself time to get fully prepared and test out my new weapons at the range before going into battle. I stepped from my car wearing my new duds. My 
I found out with my SeeMore putter that I was opening the blade when I took it back. A quick adjustment and the putts started to drop. The Gary Player golf balls provided me with much-needed distance and held up well considering some of the places I hit them.