Fairway Furloughs Military Golf Program

Marriott Golf announced a program today that honors Armed Forces members.

Active, reserve and retired personnel can play 26 Marriott courses for just $29-$69 (after 3 p.m. any day of the week).

With greens fees like that you'd think the tee times were at your local muni. Nope. Participating courses include Kauai Lagoons (HI), Camelback Golf Club (Scottsdale) and Doral Golf Resort and Spa (Miami) among others.

For more information click here.

Tweet with Tour Pros

Twitter is quickly changing the way we interact with friends, associates and even Tour pros. Stewart Cink is probably the PGA Tour's most avid "Tweeter." The last I looked he updated his status nine times in the last 24 hours.

What's on Cink's mind?

Golf, for one. Seven hours ago he wrote that "Hogan said a good shot feeling travels up the shaft, through the hands and into the heart." Never heard that, but I love it.

Technology too. "...iPod sealed in bag of rice to suck moisture out." Hmm...did Stewart drop his iPod in the drink at Hilton Head???

And hockey. "How 'bout those Atl Hawks tonight??"

LPGA star Morgan Pressel is also a twitaddict (I just made that up. Spread it around. Credit me.) She's currently in Mexico prepping for this week's Corona Championship.

What's on her mind?

Breakfast. "I ordered scrambled egg-whites wth cheese and I think there's more cheese than eggs..." Or as they say, Queso.

And her fledgling Spanish. "Unfortunately I didn't have time to brush up on my spanish. Hopefully my 5 years of classes had a lasting effect..." Something tells me they'll accommodate her.

And a little golf too. "I forgot just how hilly this golf course is. It's basically carved into the side of a mountain. Good track though." A great comment for those of us who watch golf on TV, because the camera always flattens out the undulation.

Whether you think Twitter is worthwhile or a waste of time, in the case of these two Tour pros, it provides unfiltered and easy access to their inner thoughts (Golf Pros! They're just like US!) and, if you're lucky, you might even be able to interact with them in an "inside the ropes" kind of way. (If they decide to follow you.)

We're not sure if Twitter is a trend or whether it's here to stay, but for the time being we've joined the club. You can follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/golftipsmag. I can't promise we'll talk about our breakfast or our iPods--we're strickly golf here--but if you want to know a little more about our production schedule, upcoming photo shoots, newly posted videos and anything else Golf Tips related become our follower.

I'll take three of the shiny ones, please.

Normally, I'd post information on products in the ol' Ready To Buy blog, but in the case of Tri-Mark Golf, I'm not exactly sure if most of our webveiwers would be ready to drop big bucks on what this company has in store.

In fact, I'm not even sure what the deal is with Tri-Mark as far as the company is concerned. I know they sponsor a celebrity event, but beyond that I'm not sure what's up. At first I thought the website had to be something of a farce or mockery, but again, I'm not sure. I don't know anyone who has actually bought something from there.

Anyway, Tri-Mark makes obscenely expensive ballmarkers. Yes, ballmarkers. The things you use to mark your ball on the green. And no, they don't cost $10, $50, $100, or even several hundred. Try nearly $10,000. Yeah. $10K for a ballmarker! The one in the photo is platinum with diamonds. (It's $9980.00 to be exact.)

For heaven's sake, man. A company making $10K ballmarkers ought to know they will be criticised for such a high price thingamajig, especially in the midst of this economic recovery. (Yes, it's recovering!) On one hand, I think it's ridiculous. On the other hand, I appreciate the audacity the company has in making it. On a third hand (if I had one), to each their own. Hey, if someone wants to blow $10K on a ballmarker go ahead. And to you who does buy it, what do you do, where do you live and can I have some of all that green stuff you seem willing to waste?

As for me, I'll stick with my current ballmarker. Not only is it $9979.99 cheaper, it works just fine and I can wear my ratty shorts with holes in my pockets and not worry about losing it. If not a penny, I might use a piece of Trident gum (I've actually used one.) Or a dead bug. Or a piece of wood...

The craziness ensues HERE.

What Golf Sounds Like

During Sunday's final round at Augusta National, television viewers and Masters patrons roared, gasped and even shed a tear as the final round unfolded. That's what professional golf sounds like in the middle of a major tournament.

But what does golf itself sound like?

Today we've posted two videos that begin to answer that question.

The first is from Dr. Robert Grober, Yale Professor of Applied Physics. I'm testing his invention, called Sonic Golf System-1, this evening here in LA and if sounds anything like it does in this video (recorded at this year's PGA Merchandise Show), it'll be the closest I've ever come to swinging a club and wielding (what sounds like) a lightsaber.

The Sonic Golf System may be the most fascinating (and most intelligent) example of auditory feedback to ever hit the training aid market.



In another video (posted below and provided by Mizuno Golf) Mizuno Golf's Golf Club R&D Manager, David Llewellyn, compares the sound of Mizuno's MP-67 and MP-52 irons to a few competitors forged and cast offerings. The MP-52, Llewellyn notes has a "longer and richer sound" than its competitors. After he strikes one of the clubheads and it makes a high pitched sound, Llewellyn says "that is the sound of feel." (All Mizuno's forged irons are "grain-flow forged.")

How does a richer sounding golf club help your game? According to Llewellyn, the better it sounds the more it provides "maximum feedback." Basically you can feel the ball on the face longer.

A whimsical footnote: at the end Llewellyn "plays" the clubheads like a percussionist in an orchestra. Those clubs sound great!

The Greatest Masters in Our Lifetime

We're (of course) very excited to watch the Masters, but not as much as we used to be. Since the course alterations a few years ago, it's lost a lot of its excitement (especially on the back nine). With fewer birdie opportunities, Augusta National has played more like a U.S. Open setup than the birdie barrage that had become so commonplace there.

Speaking of birdies and exciting finishes, we found this video while sifting through some YouTube. Great to see the full footage and a young Jim Nantz calling the shots. Love Weiskopf's retort as well.

Goodness, that was a tournament we'll never forget...

A look at Shaft Clubfitting

A few wise words on clubfitting from our friend and master club guru, Tom Wishon.

The Longest Par Three Ever

Tiger Woods And His Incredible Putting Stats

54 of 54: From inside 5 feet. (100%)

63 of 66: From inside 10 feet (95.5%)

Statistically, when compared to the rest of the field from this range, Tiger had a 6.6 stroke advantage from within 10 feet of the hole.

This is outrageous. Incredible. Amazing. Compared to his play at Doral, where he clearly had a better ballstriking performance yet putted lousy (by his standards), his ballstriking wasn't great at Bay Hill and his putting was superb. It's almost as if his game totally flip-flopped, only this time he won.

Once again the stats prove that no matter how well you strike the ball, if you're making putts your scores will drop. It's that simple.

So get out there and practice your putting. Tiger does it all the time... Oh, and let's see you drop a Rubik's cube... What can't he do?

Crunch Time at GT

It's officially the busiest time of the year for Golf Tips, that's why so few posts have gone up recently. We just sent our May issue to the printers last Friday and our 2009 Annual Equipment Buyer's Guide hits newsstands April 14th. We're currently working on our Faults and Fixes June issue, which will feature instruction stories from Tom Stickney and Jeff Ritter among others.

To tide you over, here's a video of Ritter's tremendous one-plane swing. Take this image with you to the golf course this weekend (if it's warm enough).

Best Swing on Tour?

Did anybody else hear Johnny Miller comment on Stuart Appleby's swing this past Saturday? Miller said Appleby must have the best swing on Tour. Really? Better than Luke Donald, Trevor Immelman and Tiger?

Tell us who has the best swing on Tour.