Metro regular James Hahn wins Canadian Tour event

Alameda's James Hahn, who can be found practicing often (and being very friendly and generous with golf tips) at Metropolitan Golf Links, shot a final round 66 to win the TELUS Edmonton Open.

"There is an unreal feeling about all of this," Hahn said. "I came over here last year and gave myself two or three years before I would even start contending. I didn't expect a win to come so soon although you dream about it all the time."

Hahn collected $24,000 for the win.

Hahn, who played for UC Berkeley (which makes its home at Metro) shares the course record (64) at Metro.

Congrats, James!

Congrats to winner of Metro Madness

John Rampa receives congratulations from GM Darryl Davis and tournament director Jerry Krause for his 6&5 victory in the recent Metro Madness match play tournament. Davis is showing good sportsmanship here, as Rampa defeated him in the Sweet Sixteen Round ;)

Sistas on the Links featured in African American Golfers Digest

The new Metro-based club Sistas on the Links is getting some attention in the golf media.

African America Golfers Digest has a story on the 54-person club created by Janet Johnson. Here's a brief excerpt:

According to Janet, "Our home course is Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland and our mission is to united and expose African American women to the game of golf, introduce young women and nurture their growth ... I have discovered that so many black women did not know they could play this game, or how to approach learning the game, and many had never picked up a golf club. These same women are now playing tournaments with us--it's wonderful!"

Sistas on the Links has an open enrollment period Oct. 15 through Nov. 15. For more information contat Janet Johnson at (510) 236-7118 or jjohnsonconsult1@peoplepc.com

Craig Snyder helping me clean up my game

"Do you know the importance of cleaning your clubs?" asked Craig Snyder as he got a glimpse of my mud-caked Titleist 755 irons at the beginning of a recent lesson.

Over the course of the next hour, Craig persuaded me not only to scrub my clubs, but showed me how to remove some of the gunk from my swing as well. Craig, one of the members of the Rich Marik Pure Golf instruction team, taught at Nike Junior Golf Camps for 13 summers after a successful playing career at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Most recently he brought his golf expertise and easy-going teaching style to Metropolitan Golf Links. Craig believes simplifying your golf swing with the correct information can quickly and easily improve your results and enjoyment.

After watching me hit a few balls Craig instantly spotted some of my long-standing problems: sucking the club inside, getting across the line at the top, and hitting nasty hooks. Craig said many of my swing ills are caused by standing too far away from the ball, so he moved me closer, worked with me on some path and plane issues, and gave me a simple but effective drill to groove the changes.

I'm already seeing results.

Craig works with all kinds of students. I recommend him highly.

csnyder@playmetro.com
(415) 596-9499

Creature from the deep, dark, murky waters

I snapped this photo with my cruddy Blackberry camera just off the 5th green...

New toy for golf nuts

I've been messing around with a high-speed consumer camera from Casio. The Exilim EX-FC100 can shoot 30 images at 6 megapixel resolution in one mere second, and allows for slow-motion video shooting of up to 1000 frames per second. It's the slow-mo stuff that's interesting for golf nuts. I've found that 210 FPS gives the best results for capturing golf swings. To wit, here is some recent video that Metro instructor Gregg Thrall captured with this camera. He recorded Nationwide Tour player Dong Yi on his recent visit to the Metro driving range.

(Image quality is better than the compressed stuff you see here)

Paddy gains 30 yards with the Happy Gilmore swing

Metro junior golfer Carlos Briones wins SF City Championship

14 year-old Carlos Briones, a member of the Metropolitan Golf Links Junior Golf Program, is the youngest-ever winner of the San Francisco City Championship.

Wow.

Carlos is is good company. Past winners of the championship (the country's oldest municipal amateur tourney) include 1964 US Open Champion Ken Venturi, 1999 US Women's Open Champion Julie Inkster, and 1969 Masters Champion George Archer.

California lawmaker introduces "language rights" bill in response to LPGA

From Sen. Leland Yee, who represents San Francisco and San Mateo:

SACRAMENTO – While speaking one’s native language is protected in cases of employment and housing under state law, such protections are not provided under the state’s civil rights act, which prohibits discrimination within business establishments.

As a result, Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) today introduced legislation to add the use of any language to the list of protections under the Unruh Civil Rights Act. Currently, the Act prohibits business establishments from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition.

The issue stems from a proposed policy announced last summer by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) to suspend players who do not speak English. The LPGA later rescinded the proposal after objections from Senator Yee and over 50 civil rights organizations.

“Unless English is justified by a business necessity, no one should be discriminated against simply for speaking their language,” said Yee. “SB 242 will rightfully add language to the list of protected classes within California’s civil rights act.”

In September of 2008, Senator Yee led an effort to oppose a discriminatory policy by the LPGA which would have required players on Tour to be proficient in English starting this year. Despite there being no relevance to the sport, the LPGA claimed that it was important for players to be able to interact with American media and event sponsors. Ironically, many of the sponsors are international companies and a number of the tournaments are not held in the United States. No other professional sports league in the United States has such a mandate.

“It is quite disheartening that in the 21st century any organization would think such a policy is acceptable,” said Yee. “With the passage of SB 242 such discriminatory mandates will not only be unfair, but illegal.”

Under SB 242, it would be a violation of state law for an entity to adopt or enforce a policy that limits or prohibits the use of any language in a business establishment, unless the language restriction is justified by a business necessity and notification has been provided of the circumstances and the time when the language restriction is required and of the consequences.

A business necessity would be defined as “an overriding legitimate business purpose for which all of the following are true: the language restriction is necessary to the safe and efficient operation of the business; the language restriction effectively fulfills the business purpose it is supposed to serve; and an alternative practice to the language restriction that would accomplish the business purpose equally well with a lesser discriminatory impact does not exist.”

#17 fairway looking good...

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Clouds from 6

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Back 9 Sunday fun

I played a very enjoyable 9 holes with these guys: Tim Murray, Mike Brill, and Tony Overbaugh (L to R).

Golf, then NFL Championship Sunday. Good times.

Oakland's First Tee chapter kicks into gear with successful club drive

Local golfers donated about 200 golf clubs to help meet the equipment needs of Oakland's new First Tee chapter, which expects to begin working with young golfers in April.



Metropolitan Golf Links, home of the First Tee chapter, hosted the club drive Jan. 10.

"It was a complete success in contributing to junior golf in the Oakland area and raising awareness for our program," said Cliff McEnery, assistant executive director of the Oakland First Tee chapter.

Many of the donated clubs will be modified to fit kids. A few of the choice drivers are now on eBay to help raise money for the chapter.

Callaway Hyper X Tour Driver

Titleist 983K Driver

Nike Sasquatch Driver

Cleveland H-Bore Driver

TaylorMade Burner 3 Wood

The First Tee home office is also donating 50 sets of new clubs to help the Oakland chapter get off the ground.

Oakland's chapter will serve 300 kids beginning in April. It's just begun a capital contribution campaign. Those who would like to contribute or volunteer their time (lots of opportunities available, no golf experience required) to the First Tee of Oakland should see Darryl Davis at Metropolitan Golf Links, or call 510-352-2002, or visit www.thefirstteeoakland.org.

The First Tee of Oakland could also use some women's and children's golf clubs. You can drop them off in the pro shop at Metro, or at the Lake Chabot course, which will also host First Tee programs.

One final note: Colin Powell will be the featured speaker at a national meeting of the First Tee in San Jose in March. Here's more info on the gala dinner featuring the former Secretary of State.

The mission of The First Tee is to "impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf."

Obama's golf swing

Let's just say he could use a couple of lessons from one of the instructors here at Metro ...

Short game tips from Josh Zander

Golf Digest.com has a nice video featuring short game tips from Josh Zander ("Six Short-Game Solutions for Saving Par"). Zander teaches at the Stanford University course and the Presidio.

His first tip is to get Stacky & Tilty for pitch shots (although he doesn't call it S&T, that's basically what it is). The video is not embeddable, so you'll have to click on the link above.

Lack of embeddable videos on most golf sites is an annoyance, as well short-sighted. Golf sites should seek to spread their content, not keep it behind walled gardens.

A round with Sam

I had the pleasure of playing 18 with Sam Moriana the other day. At 79, he's a force of nature. The long-time Metro volunteer hits the ball solidly, talks good golf trash, and oh yeah, referees high school football games.

Sam is on the Metropolitan Golf Links Course Evaluation Committee.

In this photo, Sam is walking off the 14th tee after finding the fairway once again. He's known to call himself "Fairway Sam" at least a few times during his round.

The benefit of one lesson

I took a brief putting lesson from Gregg Thrall the other day. He showed me I was aiming left on every putt, and provided me with some drills to correct the problem.

I showed immediate improvement, but most importantly I know what to work on now. The source of my putting woes -- especially on those 3-4 footers -- was previously a mystery to me.

I also changed from a 35 inch Odyssey Marxman putter to a 33 inch Yes! club. I'm enjoying the simplicity of a blade putter, and the shorter cub seems to suit me better.

Best of SwingVision

Here's Aaron Baddeley, doing the Stack & Tilt thing. It's the swing I'm trying to emulate most.





Here's AK. Dig the alignment.




Jim Furyk. Freaky.




Sergio. Mr. Lag.




Mike Weir. Another stacker/tilter.

Good golf company

I've decided to take photos of the people I get paired at Metro and post them here (only by permission of course). My most recent outing found me playing with Tim Ogles and Chris Ingenito, board members of the Metropolitan Members Golf Club. They witnessed my terrible round, in which I put up 7 double bogeys. SEVEN. Yoiks. I went 41-47. The previous round? 39-39. Crazy.



Rounding out the foursome was my buddy Anthony Perez. Anthony and I are both messing around with the Stack & Tilt swing. It's promising, but I still start hooking the ball off the course at some point during every round.

Dong Yi makes it to Q School final

Alameda native Dong Yi, who shares the course record at Metro with pal James Hahn, has secured a spot on the Nationwide Tour and could qualify for the PGA Tour with a top 25 finish in the final stage of Q School. Ron Salsig has the story:

"I knew I was close teeing off that last hole," Yi said. "Talk about Q-School pressure, that's it."

Yi hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker on the 460-yard par-4 hole. He was 160 yards to the pin, but had to hit a 9-iron to clear the lip of the bunker. His ball ended up in the right rough, short of the green, 25 feet from the hole. He chipped to five feet.

And there he was, staring at a five-footer for his life, a five-footer that meant the difference between another year on the mini-tours, or finally qualifying for at least the Nationwide Tour. When the putt dropped into the hole, he felt a life-long effort exhale in relief.

"Now at least I know I will play somewhere in the PGA Tour hierarchy next year," Yi said. "But I'm gunning for the top 25."

Metro to be home of new First Tee chapter

The Charles Schwab Cup Championship has donated $5,000 to start a new First Tee chapter in Oakland. Metropolitan Golf Links will be the chapter's base.

The First Tee, an international youth development program, impacts the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development through the game of golf.

“As we begin our Chapter next month, clearly the generous donation from The Charles Schwab Cup makes it possible for us to help more young people reach their potential and achieve success in life” said Barbara Essig, Executive Director of The First Tee of Oakland. “These funds will play a positive role on the youth in our community.”

The check presentation took place at Metropolitan Golf Links, owned by the City of Oakland and operated by Courseco Inc.

“In cooperation with the City of Oakland, we are privileged to support The First Tee by providing the course as the programming facility for the Chapter.” said Darryl Davis, General Manager of Metropolitan Golf Links, “We hope you can join us and city officials as we celebrate the generous donation from Charles Schwab Cup Championship.”

Hahn ties course record

James Hahn tied Metro's course record of 63, shooting a 30-33 on Friday, September 19, 2008.

Hahn barely missed a 10-foot birdie putt on 18 that would have bested the course record set by Dong Yi, a fellow Canadian Tour player and Alameda native. Both Hahn and Yi played golf at the University of California Berkeley.

I ran into Hahn right after his round. He downplayed his achievement, saying that merely tying the course record is nothing to brag about. I strongly disagree. Big ups to James.

Hahn has secured his Canadian Tour card for next season, but first he'll go through Q School at San Juan Oaks next month to see if he can make the Nationwide or PGA Tours.

Metro to host first and final rounds of Bay Area Ryder Cup Challenge

The Bay Area Ryder Cup Challenge is a multi-day qualification tournament to be played at Metro and at four other courses in the Bay Area.

Six person teams will play in three separate matchplay competitions. Here's the format: Two players will play best ball, two will play alternate shot, and two will play singles. All rounds will be match play format using 80% of handicaps.

Following the familiar NCAA basketball bracket format, 32 teams will compete the first day at Metropolitan on Sunday, Sept. 28. The 16 qualifying teams will move on to play Crystal Springs in Burlingame on October 5, with the 8 winning teams moving on to play StoneTree in Novato on October 11. Semi-finals will take the remaining four teams to Pleasanton's Callippe Preserve on Oct. 16 where the finalists will match up to compete in the finals at Metro on Nov. 1.



PRIZES:
Grand Prize winners will receive a luxury suite for the Nov. 30 Oakland Raiders game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, free entry into next year's event, and names etched on the perpetual trophy.

Second Place - $150 per player ($900 per team) as well as golf certificates for golf at participating courses.

Third and Fourth Place - $75 per player ($450 per team) as well as golf certificates for golf at participating courses.

The entry fee is $150 per player, and includes green fees and cart fees for all rounds of golf, range balls, tee prize for entry, BBQ luncheon on the first day of qualifying at Metro on Sept. 28 as well as entry for the Captain and co-Captain of each team to participate in the pairing party Friday Sept. 26.

Click here to signup online.

Welcome Jerome Cansino

Jerome Cansino is the new food and beverage manager at Metro. He comes to us from the Wedgewood Wedding and Banquet Center at San Ramon Golf Club.

Jerome runs The Sweet Spot Cafe at Metro, and is the guy to see about weddings and banquets here.

Carl Hiaasen's Downhill Lie

I have a treat for you today. I interviewed novelist and newspaper columnist Carl Hiaasen (author of delightful books such as Strip Tease and Sick Puppy) about his new book Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport. Click on the player below to hear the interview.

Thanks, Ed

Longtime starter Ed Downing worked his last shift this week. I hope he'll be back one day. Until then, I'm sure Ed will be taking me for a few skins at area courses like he always does. Here's Ed in action on his last day this week:

Elmhurst Prep students visit Metro

The Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative (OTEI) sponsored a field trip to Metro on Thursday, April 10, 2008. Students from Elmhurst Community Prep toured the facilities, and received some golf instruction from Metro's teaching staff.



OTEI is a community outreach program for Oakland's inner-city youth. The OTEI program offers middle school and high school students the opportunity to explore the turf and landscape industry and the game of golf through field trips, classroom guest speakers,
internships, industry Conferences, after-school programs, scholarships, career and job fairs, golf outings, special community projects, agricultural chemistry and plant biology courses, and turf seminars for high school and college level students.

Metro works to mitigate Coot population

Perhaps you've had to shoo some Coots away from your ball at Metro and wondered, "What's the deal with these birds?" I put that question to Superintendent Gary Ingram, CGCS in the presentation below. Click the play button to learn about Coots and what Gary's crew has been doing to minimize the impact on golfers.

Childs wins San Francisco city championship

Hearty congrats to Alameda High School's Emily Childs, who practices often at Metro. She won the San Francisco City Golf Championship at Harding Park over the weekend. Childs defeated Doroty Schwartz 1-up in a 36 hole match. The San Francisco Chronicle has the story:

The women's final offered its own taut drama, with Childs and Schwartz all-square for most of the afternoon back nine. Childs, a 17-year-old, Colorado-bound senior at Alameda High, finally broke the deadlock with a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to take a 1-up lead.

Both players made bogey on the difficult closing hole, giving Childs the win 22 years after her father, John, was the medalist in this tournament.

"It was big going to 18 not all-square," Childs said. "If you're 1-up and have a bad hole, at least you know you're not done."

LPGA players Julie Inkster and Doroty Delasin won this tournament in previous years. On the men's side, past champs include Ken Venturi.

Gene Bakkum @ work

Gene Bakkum, one of Metro's fantastic instructors. He's helped me a lot.

My divot line

Not exactly Vijay-quality, but sort of straight-ish. Wedges and a 7-iron.

Course evaluation committee leads to positive changes

Golfers can be an opinionated bunch. We have many thoughts on what could make a course better, and that definitely includes me. But Fred Butler's opinion carries a little more weight than my own.

Butler, who sits on the board of the men's club at Metro, is the newest member of the Metropolitan Golf Links Course Evaluation Committee. The committee is a group of golfers, Metro Diplomats, and course management personnel who get together about once a month to play the course and then evaluate what they just experienced.

Butler generally likes what he sees.

"Metro provides a challenge, especially when the wind blows, but the course is not tricked out like many," he said. Butler praises the course for its drainage, accessibility and affordability, but says the bunkers and bird situation need improvement.

The committee rates the course on 23 criteria, including:

-Greens
-Tees
-Fairways
-Rough
-Bunkers
-Cart paths
-Entrance and parking lots
-Clubhouse and grounds
-Food and beverage service
-Driving range
-Golf carts
-Pace of play

Each area is ranked on a 5-point system, with a 5 being excellent, and a 1 being poor. Metro's practice greens and golf carts scored highest on a recent report, each garnering a near-perfect 4.6. The lowest score, still a "standard" at 3.2, was the fairways. Thirteen of 23 criteria received scores of 4 or better. The remaining 9 areas received ratings between 3 and 4.

The committee has suggested Metro should dispatch its course volunteers to fill more fairway divots with sand and sand and improve its bird reduction program. And indeed, Metro is taking action. General Manager Darryl Davis recently led a group of diplomats on a sand and seed detail; Metro is working with Waste Management to disperse the gull population; and superintendent Gary Ingram has installed some temporary fencing to address the problem with those little black birds known as "coots."

I'd be happy to pass along your thoughts on Metro. Send me a message at jongordon(at)gmail

Metro Starter Ed Downing at the U.S. Amateur

I ran into Ed Downing, a long time Starter at Metro, at the U.S. Amateur championship match at the Olympic Club Sunday. Turns out that a friend of Ed's was hosting Michael Thompson at his home all week. Thompson, a senior at Alabama, fell to Colt Knost in the final match. Ed was Thompson's designated escort to and from the Olympic Club. Ed got to know Thompson, and said he was a great guy.


Michael Thompson

I asked Ed to write a few sentences about his experience. He kindly obliged:

I got to spend the week at Olympic as a result of one of my best friends being a member there. He had volunteered to host one of the players, Michael Thompson, during his stay in San Francisco. In the beginning, we joked about how cool it would be if Michael made it to the finals. We looked him up on the web and found out that he was a ranked amateur. He finished fourth at the NCAA's this year. To our surprise and joy, he did make it to the finals.

I rode with my friend Jim and Michael to and from the tournament every day except Thursday when I worked my shift at Metro. The first 2 days were stroke play and 64 of the 312 players moved on to match play. Michael shot 145 and finished 40th in the stroke play. His first match play match was against Web Simpson, the top ranked amateur in the country and a member of the Walker Cup team. Michael won that match 5 and 3. This is when we began to think he might do well. He won two matches on Thursday. The second one went 20 holes. He won both his quarter-finals and semi-finals matches on Friday and Saturday without having to play the last 2 holes. Sunday's 36 hole finals match went 35 holes before Michael was defeated by Colt Knost, the reigning Publinx champion.

During the week , I got to know Michael's parents and swing coach very well. They are really nice people. He has had the same swing coach, Suzie Meyers, since he was 14. She is a former LPGA player. They didn't do anything to Michael's swing all week. She was just there to give him confidence and support.

Michael had an air of confidence and maturity that I didn't see in many other players that week. He was a genuinely nice and humble young man. He was an eagle scout as a kid. On the rare occasion when he hit a bad shot, his demeanor never changed.

He was long. He hit 4 iron on the Lake course #3 hole, a 248 yard par 3. He drove the green several times on the uphill 286 yard par 4 seventh. In the semi-final, he hit it to 2 feet on that hole for a kick-in eagle. He says he gets his power from his legs, but you couldn't see much leg movement in his swing. He also says that he rarely tries to swing hard. The best part of his game was his putting. He made a lot of 15 footers to win or halve holes.

In short, It was great fun to be that close to a competition for a national golf championship. Until the crowds got big on the week-end, we were literally walking along with the players and checking the sprinkler heads for yardage. It was so much more enjoyable than many of the PGA events I have attended. I will be a fan of Michael Thompson as long as he is competing. By the way, he plans to finish his senior year at Alabama, play in the Masters and US Open, and turn pro.

Ed introduced me to Thompson's mother, his swing coach (former LPGA player Susie Meyers), and pointed out some other interesting folks to me, including Knost's mother and the president of the Olympic Club.

I also recognized some other folks who play at Metro from time to time.

The final U.S. Amateur-related bit of news is that when I played Friday, Diplomat Ngawang Tsephel told me that elsewhere on the course, some 16-year-old who had just played in the tourney was sneaking in a round at Metro before flying out of Oakland.

In which I visit Callaway HQ to learn about golf technology...

From my other blog, wavLength:

In a press appearance after winning the 89th PGA Championship, Tiger Woods credited advancing technology for helping his fellow PGA Tour golfers close the gap between him and the rest of the field. Woods talked about how modern clubs and balls help players hit it longer and straighter.

The best players love the latest golf equipment. The tiniest technological improvements can make a big difference in earnings. Recreational players spend a great deal of money chasing new golf tech as well, but are hacks like you and me getting any better? Not so much.

Over the past decade, technology has produced drastic changes to golf clubs and balls. Today's equipment is designed by elite scientists who are bumping up against the laws of physics in a battle to make our golf shots fly straighter and longer. While technology is helping people enjoy the game more, average folks don't seem to be getting any better at this most difficult of games. Why is that?



To learn more about how technology is driving the game of golf, I recently visited the headquarters of Callaway Golf in Carlsbad, CA. Callaway, which recently passed the $1 billion annual sales mark, is a recognized leader in golf technology. For a golf nut like me, this trip was a real treat.

I met with top Callaway R&D folks and got a high-tech club fitting from the same guy who works with pro golfers such as Phil Mickelson and Annika Sorenstam.

I am posting the interviews here in MP3 format.

First let me tell you about my session with Randy Peterson, Callaway's director of fitting and instruction. Peterson had me hit some balls on the range at the Callaway Performance Center to assess my swing (I was afraid my swing would make him retch but he said it was actually pretty good, yay), then set me up indoors to be measured on state-of-the-art equipment that gauges launch angle, spin rate, and the club's angle of attack. These measurements - taken with super high-speed cameras - are designed to help players select clubs that will produce the best results for their swings.

Listen to Q/A with Randy Peterson - MP3

Peterson recommended these clubs for me: FT-5 Driver, X-20 Tour irons, and X fairways woods. They're all new, high-tech clubs designed to hit the ball straighter and farther.

Here I am hitting balls at the Callaway Performance Center

I've been playing the Callaway clubs for about 10 rounds of golf. They're temporarily replacing my old, low-tech, ill-fitting clubs. Will the latest club technology, coupled with an advanced fitting, help my game? Early signs are positive. I'll let you know more by the end of summer.

On to more interviews:

Jeff Colton, a Harvey Mudd College-educated physicist, is Callaway's senior vice president of research and development.

(Listen to Q/A with Jeff Colton - MP3)

We talked about a number of issues, including:

-How much science and technology go into making new golf clubs
-Why art is an important consideration in clubs
-How physics and USGA rules impose limits on how far a ball can travel
-The technology behind Callaway's square-shaped driver


Jeff Colton

Callaway lured Alan Hocknell out of engineering school in England, where he was doing some groundbreaking work in "impact dynamics." Hocknell is vice president of innovation and advanced design.

(Listen to Q/A with Alan Hocknell - MP3).

We talked about

-The difference between today's and yesterday's drivers
-The role of computer simulation in producing prototypes
-Why, despite friendlier clubs, golfers aren't any better today than they were before
-The frontiers of golf club design


Alan Hocknell

I didn't get the chance to meet Callaway's top golf ball scientist, Mike Yagley, in person. But I caught up with him by phone. Even though golf balls don't look much different than they did 10 years ago, technology has transformed them as much as drivers.

(Listen to Q/A with Mike Yagley - MP3)

I talked with Yagley about

-How today's golf balls are different
-The differences between expensive and cheap balls
-Where golf ball design is headed

Finally, for a bit of a skeptical perspective on golf technology, I had a nice long conversation with Frank Thomas, former head of all things technical for the United States Golf Association. Thomas believes technology helps the average golfer a little, but golf lessons will help a whole lot more.

(Listen to Q/A with Frank Thomas - MP3).

I talked with Thomas about

-Why new, high tech clubs don't make people much better at golf
-Why golf lessons are more important than equipment
-The placebo effect of new clubs which keeps golf consumers coming back for more

Danzig wins Oakland City Putting Championship

The 2nd annual Oakland City Putting Championship has been decided. Daniel Danzig is the winner, for which he received a $250 gift certificate to the Metro pro shop. Danzig got a first round bye due to a no-show, then defeated opponents in the semi-final and final rounds. Danzig staged a strong comeback in the final -- he was two holes down after 9, but finished off his opponent on the 16th hole. Here's a photo I snapped of our winner standing next to Metro GM Darryl Davis.



Danzig's opponent in the final round was Gary Shingleton, who topped 2006 champ Doug Sager in the semi-finals. Shingleton didn't go home empty-handed: He walked away with a $150 gift certificate. Here's a photo of Gary, along with Danzig and Davis.