The Masters - An Infographic

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Golf's Top-10 Most Important Inventions of the Modern Era

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Almost every golfer dreams of coming up with the next BIG golf invention. Hell... right now there are probably thousands of men sitting in a garage or basement somewhere building a prototype they think will change the golf world forever. And you never know…one of those guys might just be on to something. That’s one of the things I love most about the golf equipment industry... some of the best inventions in golf started out on something as simple as a napkin by a guy you had never heard of before. And you never know the next BIG golf invention on a list like this might just come from a reader like you. (Source)

GolfSpyX over at My Golf Spy Dot Com reached out to three of the industry's top equipment designers to gather their opinions, and then to create a great article. They are Nike's Tom Stites, Nickent Golf's John Hoeflich, and Sheets Design Group's Tom Sheets.

Here's a snippet of what each designer had to say about their "Top-10 Golf Inventions" (all 3 specified "in no particular order"):

Tom Stites:
HEEL AND TOE WEIGHTED PUTTERS – Putters with mass located on the heel and toe are more stable than other geometries. This increases greatly the MOI of putters and improves the performance of putts when hit off center. (example- the original Anser putter)

OPEN CORE METAL WOODS - Before the first stainless steel driver all woods were solid core. If the core is open the club will have a much higher MOI and be much more forgiving to hit. Bigger metal woods for over all footprint and size will also have higher MOI’s and higher performance. This is only possible if the core is open without material and mass. Solid core woods and irons do not have a chance to compete against the performance of open core clubs. (example all metal woods)

TITANIUM METAL WOOD DRIVERS - Titanium is the ideal material for metal woods. It is very strong compared to its weight and allows very large high MOI drivers. There is nothing even close for drivers. (Example all titanium metal woods.)

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John Hoeflich:
ETONIC CORFAM SHOE 1960′s – this was really the first “waterproof” shoe that sold in big quantities. The fit was awful, but it started a revolution in shoes.

RAM/MAXFLI WOUND SURLYN BALLS - late 60′s/early 70s. Started the synthetic cover revolution.

TAYLORMADE METALWOOD – Pinseeker bombshell was first, but TM perfected the art.

ALDILA GRAPHITE SHAFTS EARLY 70′s - Shakespeare and Frank Thomas started it all, but aldila made it a hit

SOLID GOLF BALL – Topflite solid ball. Nike solid ball. When Tiger switched, it was the beginning of the end for wound balls and paved the way for the Pro V1.

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Jeff Sheets:
STEEL SHAFTS - Brought a level of consistency in shaft performance that didn’t exist with hickory. Led to today’s more upright swing plane. Hickory had about 14 degrees of torque and worked best with a flatter wristier swing plane.

MOLDED GOLF BALLS – Consistency in the product, speed in the production, consistency in the performance. Sure beats a feathery.

INVESTMENT CAST STEEL WOODS – Although aluminum and other metal woods pre-dated the first TaylorMades none of them cold hold a candle to the performance and versatility of the new generation launched in the late 1970′s.

TITANIUM DRIVERS – If stainless steel metal woods are good the larger titanium drivers are better. Deeper CG and the taller faces enabled the vertical gear effect to be a big distance factor (low/rear CG leads to higher launch and lower spin).

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And when you go to the main article be sure to check out the readers' comments at the bottom! For me the top inventions are steel shafts, graphite shafts, multi-layered golf balls, better mowing technology, and much-improved irrigation systems.

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Welcome To The Club

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The 33-in-1 Golf Club

Whether you're going on a flight and don't feel like taking your entire bag of clubs along with you (checking them costs $$$!), or you just don't have room in the car when on vacation, this club can be the solution. Obviously, however I'm sure it can't be PGA- nor USGA-approved for competition.

"This is the golf club that adjusts to 33 different loft angles, enabling you to carry more than twice the number of allowable clubs in one hand. A gear system inside the heel tilts the clubhead in 1/2-loft increments, allowing golfers to choose from five putters, two drivers, three fairway woods, 14 irons, or nine wedges with the twist of a dial. The club has the look and feel of a classic iron but its adjustable head quickly transforms it from a 64º super lob wedge for carrying bunkers to a perfectly vertical putter for saving par. Unlike a golf bag that requires an additional fee when flying, the club retracts to 19" long to enable free, convenient transport in a suitcase. The clubhead is made from 17-4 stainless steel - the same durable material used in professional metalwoods - and the shaft and clubhead lock into place to provide the same feel and response as a traditional club."

Click the image above to go to the link.

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The Great White Fire At The Station Night Club

I was watching a re-run of VH1's 100 Most Shocking Music Moments the other night. Having first realized that it's been updated since I last saw it, I was also drawn in again because they condensed it down to a lot quicker show - perhaps eliminating some of the time spent covering the events near the bottom of the list.

Anyway Michael Jackson's death was included this time, and I know it's been several years since I saw it for the first time.


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Included in the top-10, oddly enough behind the murders of both Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG, was the tragic fire at The Station Nightclub in West Warwick, RI on February 20, 2003, in which 100 people were killed. The fatalities included headlining band Great White's lead guitarist Ty Longley.

I remember hearing about it, but don't think I ever really researched it even at all. I have ran across a video which is totally worth sharing. It's actually a very amazing video - granted it's a little tough to watch, as you can hear people screaming for their lives, and see people running out of the building on fire - but again it's truly incredible footage:

This video footage of the fire depicts its initial growth and the exit blockage which hindered evacuation. Considered to be the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history, killing 100 people, four of whom died after being admitted to local hospitals. The fire was caused when pyrotechnic sparks ignited flammable sound insulation foam in the walls and ceilings around the stage, creating a flash fire that engulfed the club in 5½ minutes. Some 230 people were injured and another 132 escaped uninjured.



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Ko'olau Golf Club, Hawaii

No, I didn't go. But I have played there - on my Jack Nicklaus 6 - Golden Bear Challenge game. And it remains to this day one of the top-10 places in the world I would give an appendage to go see. Please click that image to enlarge it, and then go H E R E to see more from the "most challenging golf course in the world". I remember how it was on my game, and it was designed very, very well, by the way. You miss fairways there and you're looking at a big number.

But it's just so-o-o-o beautiful!

Here is the course's website, which has a very nice course tour if you haven't been able to see very many good pictures yet.

But if nothing else, go check out this guy's pictorial of Ko'olau. You'll thank me that you did!

The Committed Golfer

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10 College Campuses That Are More Like Country Clubs

Rice University, Houston, TX

Perhaps one of the most important factors in choosing a school is how much you enjoy being there. How are the people? Professors? What is the closest metropolis like? And, of course, is the campus nice? Fortunately, universities around the country recognize this and do their best to beautify their college grounds. And with today’s ease of access to information, college websites host plenty of facts, pictures, and virtual tours of their domain. When it comes to gorgeous, these colleges win the contest. Some of them are antique gems located in historical New England, while others are modern and situated on oceanside cliffs. From west to east and everywhere in between, these 10 college campuses will blow you away.

See the list..

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