Golf Practice-zine Newsletter for March 2010

Finally it's April! Thanks for signing up to receive the April 2010 issue (#23) of the Newsletter. Courses and Ranges are open -- even some grass hitting areas-- so we can swing 'em for real. This month we've got: a review of James Lepp's Kikkor shoes, a look at the AirTee, I nominate Brian Davis as golf hero, a look at slotted shafts for putters and Rankmark's realistic ratings process for drivers.

Here is the lineup this issue:

Newsletter Contents:

1. Review - James Lepp's Kikkor Shoes
2. AirTee - Range Technology
3. Golf Heroes? - Try Brian Davis
4. Slotted Shafts for Putters
5. Driver Ratings by Rankmark

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1. Review - James Lepp's Kikkor Shoes

As promised in last month's newsletter (Golf Practice-zine Newsletter, Issue #22) I ordered Lepp's Eppik Blaze model golf shoes. I said I would review and report, so here goes:

They were more than worth the wait:

• Price; $129.00 (Cdn); $89.00 (US). Plus tax. Free shipping (for now). James says now that shoes are in stock, time from order to delivery should be quicker. My eleven days would have been 48 hours had I waited (I couldn't wait).
• Contact: How neat is it to be in touch with James himself. I shot off emails, thinking there was a snowball's chance I'd get and answer. Same day, I got an email message from James. Very cool.
• The Look: I like the style. The Blazes are colourful, bright, modern shoes. A clean, low-profile shoe. They do not look like traditional golf shoes. People have commented, "They don't look like golf shoes." I have to say that is true, but also right up James Lepp's alley. Kikkor bills itself as an "alternative golf brand" that targets the "younger players at heart". To them, the younger player is an under-serviced part of the market.

  Kikkor says, "It doesn't matter what age you are, ....nobody truly wants to wear the same stuff as their dad." I take their point. If you are a bright new footwear company, coming into a very competitive apparel market, you don't really want your product to like like everybody else's. They have succeeded.

• Fit is excellent. The size guide, unique in my experience, offered reliable advice. Measure, record and match your heel-toe length to the posted US Mens Size and you are done. I was a titch over 11 inches; went with size 11 and was relieved to find it worked wonderfully.

  

  I have pretty demanding shoe requirements when I play. My feet die, if shoes do not: 1) fit properly, and; 2) support my arches, and; 3) hold my orthotic inserts (I pronate, so the inserts are required full-time; in my street shoes as well as my golf). My inserts plus my feet were very comfortably snugged into these shoes.

• Materials: Eppik Blazes have flat shoelaces which are perfect. One of my pet peeves with modern shoes is round laces. The person who started the round lace epidemic should have been drowned at birth. They constantly come loose. Solved by double-knotting, the lace is impossible to undo at the end of a round. Flat laces have more surface area available to bond in a kknot -- it is simple physics -- a clean, simple knot will last through the round. Kikkor shoes prove this point. I say god bless them.

  Otherwise, the comfortable, form-fit is achieved with a soft foam lining inside the leather uppers. Under the tongue especially, the foam works like an inverted mattress to snug the foot into the shoe. Feet do not slip around, they are coddled into the shape of the shoe.

  The hard sole reminded me of a deck shoe, and I was skeptical at first. I thought they would feel hard and be inflexible, causing my feet to ache post-round. This fear was groundless. In fact I would rate these shoes my most comfortable golf shoe ( I play with FootJoy and Adidas ).

  As a right-hander, I roll my right shoe over and up onto the toe when I complete a swing. On my other shoes, my toe hurts at the end of a round or practice session. Not with the Eppik Blazes. My feet are so well-swaddled, they feel completely protected throughout the round. I was truly surprised by the toe thing. Maybe it is because the shoe is wider and more rounded at the toe than my other shoes, whatever, this design is without doubt my best fit. Ever.

• Online Bonus: besides the store, there are video player tips. James is a born teacher. My favourite is the Saucer Pass. You have to see this to believe it. I promise, you'll be scraping fairways for days after seeing this neat little trick.
• Flat Rubber Deck: the sole is solid rubber. Seven Quik-Lik spikes give good grip. This is a very solid swing platform. The flat part is key to this, in my opinion. I know you aren't supposed to stand flat-footed when you swing, but the shoes feels like you are planted. You are "at one with the ground" you might say. Your weight can be distributed corrrectly and you don't feel as if you are in ballet slippers. The Eppiks just feel right.
• The Masters: if you saw the Masters, you know that much was made of Freddie Couples and his shoes (Street Customs by Ecco). Talk about deck shoes... with NO SOCKS! NO SPIKES either! Now tell me he did not look like a golfer with those shoes. We may be seeing a trend here. A trend to shoes that are comfortable to fit the foot requirements of the golfer; not meet the conformity standards of a creaky, stuffy establishment. What do you say we support that shoes move in tune with the changes sweeping the ball, the driver, the shirts, the irons and the putters? With a little bit of style of course.

So, Eppik Blaze shoes achieve my unreserved recommendation. I now own three pair of golf shoes. The Kikkors join my Adidas and my FootJoys. I'm wearing the Blazes. The new methodologies used to obtain the putting stats are explained in detail.

For more info, check out the Kikkor website. Definitely have a look at their golf tip videos and their blog. James and his shoes have been getting good press attention for his new venture lately. James and Kikkor were written-up for the Sun/Province Newspapaers' joint golf magazine to start off the 2010 golf season. The interest is there. Now, all they have to do is sell.

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Developed by AirTee Ltd in Israel the product is the Semi Automatic AirTee system for golf driving ranges.

What It Is

How It Works

That's why they call it Semi-Automatic; the golfer drags the ball over the hole, causing the AirTee to "spring" into action. It's well-thought-out. If the golfer wants to hit directly off the matt, without the tee, he merely drags the ball from the ball tray onto the matt without placing it over the hole as he would without the AirTee.

The advantage is that golfers don't have to bend over so much to place a ball on the tee. Hitting drivers was never so easy. AirTee claims that for very little added cost, an AirTee installation can generate up to 40 percent more revenue as golfers are induced to hit more balls than they normally would.

AirTee has been active since 2008. Patents were first attained in the U.S. but have now been granted in Europe (2010). The company is so confident in its ability to achieve higher revenues for its clients that they have proposed a new Pay Per Added Ball plan to range operators who choose to adopt their product. The deal is:

• the AirTee is installed 100 percent free of charge
• range operators enroll in the Pay Per Added Ball (PPAB) Program
• no operating or repair costs while enrolled
• AirTee will charge only one-half the increase in income from ball sales relative to previous years.

For more information visit the AirTee website. Their videos explain the setup, how it works and show a detailed example of the installation process.

This is a bold, aggressive move by a company that appears sincere in their desire to change the range experience for golfers and range operators alike.

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Brian Davis is a very accomplished golfer. His pro career began in Europe in 1997 and his star has been rising ever since. He had risen into the Top 50 in the World Golf Rankings, fell off due an operation to remove a tumor on his side in 2005; he rushed his comeback, played too much and developed back problems arising from compensations to his swing. He is now rounding back into form and from his current rank at 98 is trying to regain a standing in the top 50 in the world. (see Wikipedia entry)

Quick Facts on Brian Davis

1. born August, 1974 in England (age 35)
2. currently ranked 98th in World Golf Rankings (as at April 18/10)
3. made European Tour 1997, two victories
4. entered PGA Tour Q-School for first time, 2004 and won the six round event. (1st Englishman to do so)
5. played both European Tour and PGA Tour in 2005
6. focused on PGA Tour starting in 2006
7. Best finish in a major, 6th, British Open (2003)
8. four 2nd place finishes on PGA Tour

When he regains Top 50 status in World Ranking, Brian will look again at playing both the European and US Tours. In 2006, the Davis' second child had kidney problems, so the Davises moved the family to their Orlando (Windermere) home to be near the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital. For 2007 and 2008 Davis had two solid seasons on the PGA Tour, finishing well within the top 100 on the Money List. In 2009, he had his best year yet, ending at 43rd on the money list.

Sportsmanship and Class

Brian Davis' call on himself was a pure act of sportsmanship during the playoff with Jim Furyk for the Heritage Classic championship. Since witnessing his admittance of the rule violation it is all the more remarkable that it was a call that only he could make. The brush of his club against a twig with his backswing was imperceptible to all but a slow motion replay to the rest of us.

So much was at stake. A million dollar prize; peer recongnition; sponsor adoration and promotional opportunity; a two-year exemption from Tour qualifying (etc.). His goal of a first-ever Tour win lay before him.

Yet without the slightest hesitation, he called rules official Slugger White over and explained the situation he thought was a problem. A two stroke penalty erased his chance of victory in an instant. After coming so close; sinking a last-chance 18-foot putt to put himself in a tie and force the play-off, the brush with fate eliminated a week of excellent golf.

Turns out his actions left a lot to be admired. At the tournament offices after the tournament was over, the e-mails of congratulation poured in expressing their support. As Davis told reporters:
"I've gotten more congratulations this week than when I've won. It's a weird feeling. E-mails started flooding in from people -- not necessarily golf fans, just ordinary people who heard what had happened and just wanted to say congratulations and thanks for being honest and following the spirit of the game." Not winning still hurt, but there was a lot of self-satisfaction from doing the right thing.

This whole episode shows how important Brian Davis' actions were to the golf community. Golf needed to highlight and have fans witness the integrity and character the Tours have so longed to project. Davis' call on himself encapsulated all of those qualities. Davis rightly reaps the rewards from his actions, though most of those are personal in the form of inner satisfaction, peer recognition and fan approbation.

I doubt that Brian Davis will gain additonal sponsorships from his actions -- nor would he seek them, I suspect. Davis seems genuinely surprised at the upwelling of support and congratulatory emails. Fans expressed real emotion and it is heart-warming to note that no ratings, monetary rewards or endorsements were harmed in the witnessing of this noble, natural act.

Is there a highlight reel of good deeds? A top ten of confessions? Probably not. It's nice that doing the right thing gets recognized. Good things can be done by good people, even when they lose.

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A site called GolfScenceTechnology has a new idea for putters. It goes something like this:

1. Take a standard putter shaft and cut it in half down the middle
2. down each of the sides drill holes at regular intervals to fit special screws
3. develop weights that are the same diameter as the shaft, flat in shape and about two inches long
4. drill holes in the wieghts so they can be attached to the split shaft by the screws
5. Use the screws to reconnect the two halves of the shaft with the weights in the middle
6. The re-joined shaft can now be configured by moving the weights up and down the shaft to vary its feel.

With apologies to the guys at GOLFSCIENCETECHNOLOGY (GST), this is an over-simplified description of what their "weight management system" is designed to do for your putter. It enables you, by varying the number and location of weights along the shaft, to adjust your putter weight and feel for variatons in green speeds.

I buy it. The idea makes sense to me because I have tried a variation of this concept myself though in a much less sophisticated manner. For slow greens, I like a heavier putter, it creates more mass behind the ball and lets me get the ball to the hole more often. On fast greens, I've gone to a lighter putter because just touching the ball lets me "die the ball at the hole". Of course, my way results in having a dozen putters and screwing up any sense of overall feel and I am unable to putt with anything after a while.

The GST have applied (as their name implies) a more scientific approach to the process. They have a chart that matches stimpmetered green sppeds with weights located at numbered slot positions along the shaft. If you know the green speed, you can configure your putter to optimize putter performance.

The GST weight management system applies so much more sophistication to the goal of achieving a more consistent, accurate putter stroke it cannot help but make you a better putter. Advanced technology provides a simple, effective system to apply and enhance your putting skill.

• Choice of putter head (blade, mallet, alignment)
• Choice of grip (3 kinds)
• Choice of shaft length (33. 34 or 35 inch)

I recommend the GST site. Check it out, you will learn a lot about putting. That can never hurt.

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Where I go for info -- my real bottom line reference -- is Rankmark.Owned by Charlie Mandel, Rankmark provides, in my opinion, unbiased club rankings based on test results. As Rankmark says, "We produce the consumer reports of golf; golfers want to know which driver, which putter, or which wedge is best."

Back in 2001, I stumbled on Rankmark's site while looking for a driver. They had a category then called "Best for Improving Distance" which was right up my alley. A company called Golf Gear had a driver called the Tsunami. I read up on the company, turns out they were a well-known supplier of club face inserts to other manufacturers in the golf industry; well-respected as innovators and known for high quality. I ordered a driver and it was indeed a great improvement to my arsenal.

Testing vs Review

Testing involved over 100 golfers, independent of any vendor representation or bias, who tried and gave their opinions after hitting club trials. Tests were supervised by a PGA professional so tests could be standardized and results collected in a consistent manner. Players are grouped into categories by age, handicap and years of golfing experience. People hit a wide selection of clubs. Reviews may be influenced by advertising or material supplied by manufacturers which are then included in the article or comparative results. Reviews often assemble player opinions where results were gained under dissimilar circumstances or unsupervised conditions. Reviews are often available in golf magazines; they are performed on a limited selection of clubs by a few golfers in order to make editorial deadlines and assess clubs which sometimes can be donated by advertisers. They are fine for what they do, but they are not intended to be representative but to inform readers of what the latest equipment looks, feels and costs. To get the same value from a review as you would from a test, Rankmark feels that you would have to read dozens of reviews and even then, results would not be as consistent.

Rankmark attempts to provide as broad a range of equipment to a large group of testers who assess the equipment in a supervised environment to assure standardized conditions and comparable results.

Two tables below, show a sample for drivers tested in March, 2010. For more test results and details, visit the Rankmark website.

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