What are the chances that I can get away with using this sweet little thang as my ballmark the next time I play a round at my local club ?

It’s called EEZ-READ and pronounced easy read and the inventor says it will give me a quick read to see if the green is uphill, downhill, breaks left, breaks right, etc.

I don’t know about you, but even if I can’t use it in competition, I’d still like to go out and survey my local clubs greens and make a nice little diagram like the well paid boys use.

If anybody has any experience with this, let me know what you think.

For those who think and say that golf is a game of feel, Dr. Robert Grober may change the way we feel.

Dr. Grober developed the technology behind Sonic Golf, a system that translates each golfer’s swing into a series of audible tones that reflect speed and tempo. By listening to the sounds generated during the swing, a golfer can more easily make changes, resulting in dramatic improvements for beginning golfers and easy tweaking for advanced players.

“Sonic Golf helps golfers make the transition from mechanics to golf swing.” – Jerry King, PGA Teaching Professional, Kapalua Golf Academy, Maui

We all know that good golf swings are rhythmic, but usually a beginning golfer’s swing hasn’t progressed to that level yet, unless he/she was born with a sense of rhythm.

So Grober, a physics professor at Yale, spent more than a decade researching the golf swing. The Sonic Golf system that he developed and now uses with everyone from new golfers to PGA Tour pros utilizes a sensor that is installed in the grip of a club.

With the information about the swing that the sensor generates, sound is transferred to wireless headphones that the golfer wears. The feedback helps the golfer adjust the swing; results can be seen in as little as 20 minutes.

“Sonic Golf provided me a different way of understanding my swing.” – Charlotte Mayorkas, LPGA Futures Tour

Most professional golfers already have a good idea of tempo and rhythm.

Take Tiger Woods for example.

He takes 1.08 seconds to hit a driver, and he takes 1.08 seconds to hit a wedge. A swing that’s repetitive and consistent is the hallmark of a great golfer.

The company plans to release a version of the Sonic Golf system that users can purchase for their own use. Interested golfers will be able to purchase a club already outfitted with the sensor, or can buy the sensor for their own clubs. Plus, Allen says the company is working with a major grip manufacturer to have grips that will open for easy insertion and removal of the device.

Sonic Golf is likely to appeal to teaching professionals, too, as another way to get across their messages about swing changes.

For those of us who struggle with tempo and weren’t born with great rhythm, this invention could be the difference in long lasting golf happiness versus a lifetime of frustration.

Visit the Sonic Golf website for more info.

According to the PGA Tour website, the screen shot below shows that per event, Tom Watson, a young 58, is 67.5 % more effective per event, than Loren Roberts, the leader of the Schwab Cup Points race.

Watson averages 184.7 points per event and Roberts averages 124.7.

Tom’s only played 11 events, compared to Loren’s 21, yet he’s still not too far behind him.

Had Watson played 21 events, and still maintained that average, he’d be way, way ahead in the race for the Charles Schwab Cup.

Too bad Tom’s hip, which needs to be replaced, is bothering him and keeping him from playing as many events as the younger guys.

Jay Haas said it best this weekend, when he said basically the same thing. He knows Watson could still be kickin’ some senior butt, except for a bad hip and other things to do besides play golf every single week, like Dana Quigley.

Hat’s off to Tom Watson, one of my favorite golfers of all time and still a force to be reckoned with on The Champions Tour.

Trying to do some research for an article, I used The Golf Channel’s website and their search box, which, in my estimation … simply sucks.

Here’s a screen shot of the results, along with the search term I used.

As you can see, I searched for Schwab Cup Standings. As you can also see, their search function has no idea what that means, yet you’d think they’d be an authority on that subject or at least could enable their search bot to return results that were relevant to the search.

I’ll just go to Google and use their search box and get some results that are a wee bit more relevant to my search.

I don’t get around the southeast like I used to, due to a different career position, but a good friend visited Mississippi a few weeks ago and brought back some great reviews of the Magnolia Golf Trail.

I was wondering if anyone out there could give us some reviews of any of their courses ?

My golf blog buddy Tony K., over at Hooked On Golf, alerted me to a new golf blog written by Master Club Designer Jesse Ortiz.

In The Studio with Jesse Ortiz looks like it will be a great read, although the posts look like they’ll be longer than the average golf blog post, if the first couple are any indication.

We’ll see how it goes for Jesse, but there’s a glitch or two as of now, since I tried to register to comment and was sent an email thanking me for signing up to receive updates, which I didn’t do. And, it didn’t get me registered either.

I added Jesse to my Blog Roll and subscribed to his RSS feed and I’ll try to give you an update on how it goes.

Click thru and join Jesse In The Studio.

Did you happen to read The Presidents Cup Report Card written by ESPN.com golf writer Jason Sobel ?

If not, click HERE to open it in a new window.

Let’s start by saying I have never owned, as of yet, a golf ball retriever.

I’m kinda like Natalie Gulbis, who said in a commercial, that she let’s ‘em stay in the water, lest they come back and infect the other ones in the bag.

BUT, and that’s a big butt, but not quite as big as J-lo’s, I may just have to invest in one of these sweet little retrievers I just read about in a Press Release.

This season’s greatest gift idea for golfers may be the one of the most versatile golf ball retrievers ever built - The Dipper (TM) compact golf ball retriever from www.dippergolf.com.

The small, yet sturdy Dipper clips to the shaft of the golfer’s three iron,
or other bladed club, and extends to over 12 inches. This configuration
makes it ideal for the easy retrieval of golf balls from hazards such as
ponds, creeks, and wetlands. Yet when collapsed for storage, the retriever is only 7 inches long and weighs less than 3 ounces. In addition, it has an integrated groove-cleaning tool for extra versatility.

The Dipper’s compact size makes it ideal for golfers, like me, who don’t want to carry a bulky, unsightly ball retriever with their golf clubs.

Easily stored in the pocket of a golf bag, the retriever enables a golfer to ‘just clip and dip’ to recover a golf ball in a water hazard. At a time of rising golf ball costs, it’s an easy and inexpensive way to protect your investment.

The Dipper is an ideal holiday gift and comes in several colors.

Constructed of aircraft aluminum and high impact plastic, The Dipper is
rustproof and is built for years of service on the golf course. It’s available in selected golf pro shops and at the company’s Web site at
www.dippergolf.com for a suggested retail price of $12.95.

Discounts are available for large quantity orders — and can be branded with an organization’s logo.

If you buy one and save an almost drowned ProV1, you can always say you ” Won one with The Dipper ! ”

Sorry Knute, that was kinda sad.

Just in case you don’t normally visit ESPN for your golf talk, I think it’s worth it to read Jason Sobel’s Five Things We Learned During The FedEx Cup.

In it, he says Rory was right. Tiger is beatable… once in every five tries.

Thanks kinda funny, since Tiger won more times in the last month than Rory has in his career.

The sad part of the whole thing is that Tiger could have skipped the last and did skip the first event and still won this thang.

That’s an indication that the points part of the process needs serious tweaking. Serious.

Anybody got any ideas on how to fix it ?

Tim Finchem’s a big TravellingGolfer.com fan, so I’m sure he’ll see it if we leave him a tidbit or two.

Jus’ kiddin’.

My friend Mike Pedersen just went live with his newest golf blog, Mike Pedersen Golf.

It’s a visual masterpiece and I can guarantee it’ll be edutaining.

Mike’s an expert at teaching you how to use fitness to improve your golf game and your life while you’re at it.

Click thru and subscribe to his RSS feed, like I already did and leave him a comment, like I already did.