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While the golf industry constantly entertains talks of drivers, irons, wedges, putters, and other equipment, one necessity generally left out is the glove. Yes, you put a glove on for basically every round, so why has there been little scientific advancement in the glove category? For one, few great products have revolutionized the industry providing players with better feel or control. That might change soon. Bionic Golf has released a state-of-the-art glove to help all players who struggle with hand pain, callouses, and arthritis. As a range rat myself, I often have bad callouses from excessive hitting, so I was very excited to try out the Bionic glove. Who's Bionic? Well, Bionic products are made the same company who manufacture the iconic Louisville Slugger baseball bat. In the glove industry, Bionic is making a name all of their own.
My Thoughts:
As I said before, I was excited to try the glove out due to my frequent battles with callouses and other hand pains. Upon receiving the product, I was surprised to see that increased padding was not the only feature this glove brought. In addition to comfort, the Bionic glove has "motion zone" strategically placed throughout so that movement and feel are increased. The glove also uses cabretta leather and an interface zone so that the glove breathes extremely well. While I tested the product during a snowstorm (...golf crazy), I'm sure in the event I was sweating, it would drain and breathe very well. Aside from that, I felt very comfortable gripping the club. The padding doesn't interfere with taking the grip, so that was never an issue. I also felt as though I had better control over the club as the leather and design gripped extremely well. This product is a must for arthritic golfers and all of those who are fed up hurting their hands playing a game they enjoy so much.

In case you missed it, 50 year old Fred Funk lit up Turtle Bay with a 23 under par performance in three days of play. Hale Irwin spoke for the entire Champions Tour saying, "Go hire a hitman." Irwin finished 17 strokes back of Funk.

Funk's move to the Champions Tour couldn't come at a better time. The legends are gone. Arnie, Jack, Lee Trevino, Fuzzy is slowly moving to the end. The Champions Tour used to market legends, now the former PGA journeymen and those who didn't fulfill their potential dominate. Dana Quigley is no Jack Nicklaus and fails to please crowds like Arnie.

At this point, the Champions Tour needs a fun, exciting game to get viewers and sponsors. Lucky for them, those players are on the way. Fred Funk's success is only part of the new Champions Tour bringing PGA quality game to the senior fields. Greg Norman is planning to play more, and Nick Price is about to become eligible. Fred Couples will also play some events based on his back condition is the future.

Regardless, the Champions Tour needs this change to a more thrilling game. For example, an interview on Sunday with Peter Jacobsen focused on his hip surgery. Even devout golf fans had to find this conversation less than exciting. The legends may be gone, but if the Champions Tour can market a new style of game focusing on the golf and not the players, the seniors may succeed.

The Champions Tour now faces the problem of keeping its stars on their tour. Now that strength and flexibility are training focuses for today's stars, players will be smoking drives longer than ever. Fred Funk has stated that he would prefer to play on the PGA Tour for the challenge.

Tiger Woods started the day two strokes behind the leaders, but finished the day holding the Buick Invitational trophy in his hands. He may have had to walk the course, but he's driving home in a new Buick and taking $918,000 for the win. He shot a 66 and had the lowest round of the day.

It was Tiger's 55th career win. With seven PGA consecutive wins, he is second only to Byron Nelson for longest winning streaks. When asked, Tiger said he plans to take some time off and did not commit to when he will play again.

Charles Howell, III, finished two behind Tiger to take second. Howell, with 4,951 points, has now taken over first place in the FedEx Cup. Vijay Singh drops to second place. Tiger picked up 4,500 points for today's win.

Day Three is finished and, amazingly, Brandt Snedeker is still at the top of the leaderboard at the Buick Invitational. But the competition has gotten tougher. He is now tied for the lead with Andrew Buckle.

Kevn Sutherland is hot on their heels. And, the hottest golfer today, may be Tiger Woods who now is only two strokes off the lead and tied with three other men.

Woods feels ready to win and said he is getting stronger with every round.

In other Buick Invitational news, Phil Mickelson used Callaway's new square faced driver. He didn't have a great showing .... he hit only five fairways and finished one over par.

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By this time next Saturday, lots of golfers will have paid $399 for the Nike SQ Sumo 2.

Unbelievably, at some locations, golf salespeople will be dressed in sumo shorts -- hopefully with something underneath!

The Callaway FT-i model will launch on February 15 at a price $100 over the Nike club.

Tiger Woods has, of course, tried the Nike SQ Sumo2. The ball went high, long and straight .. although one questions whether it's the golfer or the driver. He has made the decision to stick to the Nike SasQuatch.

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Overcoming enormous odds, Brandt Snedeker still leads after day two of Buick Invitational. He shot a 2-under 70 today. The lead brought him a standing ovation on the 18th hole. His comment, "I thought, 'So this is what it feels like to be Tiger Woods!'"

Charles Howell III stands in second place, still three strokes behind the leader.

Woods shot a 72 and stands 7 shots behind the leader.

Both Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh made the cut.

The largest galleries, of course, stayed with Tiger. However, Snedeker did have a following and he treated them like friends.

Some notables who did not make the cut include: Will Mackenzie, Paul Azinger, John Daly and Jose Maria Olazabal.


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Shooting an 11-under 61 on the first day of play, Brandt Snedeker is sitting at the top of the Buick Invitational. Brandt had 9 birdies, 1 eagle and nothing worse than a par today.

Is Tiger #2 ... or #3 .. or #4 .. ... no, after day one, Tiger is tied for 14th place with a 6 under 66. Tiger isn't lonely -- he is sharing the 14th spot with Bart Bryant, David Duval, D.J. Brigman, Jamie Lovemark, J.B. Holmes, Mark Calcavecchia, Michael Allen, Andrew Buckle and Craig Kanada.
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A strong field will hit the links in San Diego at the Buick Invitational. TV should also have a lot of interest as Tiger looks for his seventh consecutive PGA Tour win. Tiger will take Torrey Pines seriously for several reasons.

Aside from Tiger, Lefty will also be in this week's field. A lackluster start of the 2007 season left golf fans wondering if Phil Mickelson has what it takes to be the Phil of early last season. A 45th place finish in a weak field doesn't scream top 5 world rank, but Phil was coming off a long offseason.

The golf world, and myself, have spent the last several months raving about the arrival of the new driver shapes. If you believe that all that is square is not golf, you might want to check out the new Callaway Big Bertha 460. The new Big Bertha may take the backseat to Callaway's new FT-I and FT-5 drivers.

So with little talk about the new Big Bertha, here are a couple facts to clear it all up. The Big Bertha says it all, 460 cc with a typical Callaway look. The club has the highest Moment of Inertia of any Callaway driver meaning mishits will go longer and straighter than ever before. The new Big Bertha is $299.99, a little less painful than the new $500 square and other oddly shaped heads.

The Callaway Big Bertha made this year's Gold Digest Hot List, so those who have tried see it as more than the lesser brother of the FT-I/5.

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Last weekend, Paul Casey won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. His next goal is to win the Masters in April.

Casey, an Englishman, thinks the Augusta event suits his playing style, primarily due to long drives. He acknowledges he will have to quit three-putting if he has any shot at the title.

To add a little extra incentive, his wife will let him buy a Lambourghini if he wins a major championship. Extra practice may be worth it...

Yes, the Zealous Golfer hates to be kept inside, far away from the world of golf. Unfortunately, this Winter Golf Syndrome is one that effects us all that live in the northern areas of the country (or world). Being a golf nut, I have bundled up several times this winter and hit Birdieballs until I couldn't feel my hands, but this practice surely is not the most productive.

The only practice I have really done of value in the cold months is my work on my putting using a putter, a cup, and a bedroom. While hitting the same putt hundreds of times in a row may not improve your green reading, a focused golfer can work on engraining a nice, smooth stroke when the range is closed. This sort of practice is rarely done as most decent days call golfers to the practice tee (smashing drivers is a heck of a lot more fun than working on long putting).

At least we're nearing the Spring when golfers will hit moist and aerated links, but all the while living it up.

Moral of the story: Florida is a better place than Pennsylvania


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The age of technology has led to many advancements in cell phones. Such advancements, especially the cameras now found in virtually every cell phone, have caused the R&A to ban cell phones at the British Open.

Last year, Tiger called off many shots due to clicks and noises going off during his backswing. Caddie Stevie Williams can't throw out every camera, so all cell phones will be missing from the Open this year.

The new ban was experimented with at the Ryder Cup in Ireland last year. Most tournaments in the United States require spectators to be searched for cell phones at the entrance.


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Tom Watson, 57, has committed to play in next month's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. His amateur partner will be his son, Michael.

Michael is famous for playing catch with Willie Mays when he was a batboy for the San Francisco Giants.

Tom Watson has not played at the event since 1999.


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Hale Irwin won the Champions Tours season-opening event, the MasterCard Championship. He beat Jim Thorpe and Tom Kite by five strokes. It was his 45th victory, but his first win in 15 months. Irwin, age 61, is the sixth oldest player to win on the senior tour.

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Charley Hoffman competed in his very first Bob Hope Chrysler Classic this week and is taking home the trophy. Hoffman found an eagle on the 18th hole to enter a playoff with John Rollins. Rollins put his drive into the bunker in the first hole of playoff while Hoffman blasted one into the fairway. Rollins made par while Hoffman made a birdie for the win.

Fourth round leaders Justin Rose and Lucas Glover both were unable to put together a strong round. Rose missed a birdie putt on the final hole to enter the playoff with Hoffman and Rollins. Rose continued his many mediocre final rounds which have prohibited from stepping into the Tour's spotlight.

Jeff Quinney, the 2000 U.S. Amateur Champion, almost made it to the playoff after finding a hole-in-one on the 17th hole, but did not birdie the 18th.

Scores were incredibly high due to intense winds throughout Sunday. Steve Lowery, top 30 in
FedEx Cup points entering the week, shot 48 on the front nine.

Surprisingly, the under-20's who were predicted to dominate were missing from the playoff as Rollins and Hoffman both are in their 30's.

Picture from www.bhcc.com


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In the closest thing to a major championship in the Middle East, a star loaded field kept the tournament interesting late into Sunday. In the end, Englishman Paul Casey won by a single stroke over Peter Hanson and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Casey fired a seven under round on Sunday to finish at 17 under par as Jimenez and Hanson fell a stroke short at 16 under par.

American Ryder Cup player Chris DiMarco took fourth at 15 under par as the low American in the field. Order of Merit champion Padraig Harrington,

Retief Goosen, and Jean-Francois Lucquin finished at 14 under.

Other notables include Euro Ryder Cup stars Henrik Stenson (8th), Sergio Garcia (14th), Robert Karlsson (14th), and Colin Montgomerie (14th).


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When The Golf Channel took over PGA Tour coverage, they brought many technological goodies to please any golf nut. My personal favorite is the new Win Zone statistic which calculates the chance of any player winning at any time during a tournament.

This week at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Lucas Glover is number one with a 16.2% of winning. Pretty good for a young gun, but The Golf Channel says 32 golfers are still in it on Sunday.

With so many players still close to the top, going low can put any golfer in the winner's circle. The battle will probably will come down to Justin Rose versus Lucas Glover. Glover has had past magical Sunday performances, such as finding a birdie on the 17th hole and a hole-out from a bunker on the 18th at the FUNAI Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort en route to his first victory.


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Justin Rose, a 26 year old Englishman, is still in the lead at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic with only one day left; however, he is sharing the lead.

Rose had bogeys on the two of the final five holes. He shot a 70 today.

Lucas Glover, however, birdied 4 of the last 7 holes. Glover's only win was at the 2005 Walt Disney World Classic.

Phil Mickelson is gaining strength. He shot a 66 which included 9 birdies today.
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Justin Rose shot a 66 on day three of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic to take a two stroke lead over Scott Verplank. Three golfers are tied for third place: Lucas Glover, John Rollins and Roberty Allenby. All three are five strokes behind the leader.

Afternoon temperatures only reached 50 degrees.

Phil Mickelson is ready to start his 2007 golf season in a different place than last year. He has lost 25 pounds since last year. He accomplished the weight loss by lifting weights and doing a 90 minute cardio workout six days a week.

He acknowledged at a press conference yesterday that he is motivated to play. One of the motivators is the FedExCup and the prospect of picking up $10 million if he wins.

Mickelson has been M.I.A. since a disappointing display at the Ryder Cup in Dublin in September.

He should do exceedingly well this week due to a variety of factors including:

1. He is the only top 30 player in the world participating in the event.
2. He is the defending Masters champion.
3. The start of the season has proven to be good to Mickelson in the past.

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Comedian George Lopez , known best for his latin humor and ABC Sitcom, has been chosen to host this year's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Each year, Golf's most popular magazine publishes a list of the industry's top clubs as rated by dozens of scientists and testers. Golf Digest released this year's Hot List in the February issue as several companies stole the show with hot new products.

Here is what the editors of Golf Digest honored as the best new product of its type:
Drivers: Callaway Fusion FT-5 ($430)
*How Callaway can you get with a giant head and even bigger forgiveness. Huge head, sleek design, big drives. Oh yeah, OptiFit is revolutionizing the club fitting industry.
Fairway Woods: Callaway Big Bertha ($200)
*Huge head for a fairway wood, but apparentally lets it rip of the turf. OptiFit is also available for the fairway woods.
Hybrids: Adams Idea Pro ($200)
*Newcomer to the summit of huge golf companies. Prides itself on tour proven hybrids that don't make better players feel like they're cheating on their long irons.
Game-Improvement Irons: Callaway X-20 ($700)
*Callaway GI irons are always easy to hit with a little bit of workability for the better player.
Super Game-Improvement Irons: King Cobra S9 ($800)
*Extremely light weight for easy play and long shots.
Player's Irons: Taylormade r7 TP ($800)
*Tour proven success, but looks more like a GI iron than a blade
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Spin Milled ($110)
* Can't disagree with numerous tour wins. Tiger used to put Vokey wedges in his bag too.
Mallet Putters: Odyssey White Hot XG 2-Ball SRT ($200)
*Saturn rings for stability and 2-ball design for alignment. Fear no three footer. Maybe.
Blade Putters: Ping G5i ($115)
*Nice price, nice look, what more can you ask for?
Tour-Performance Balls: Titleist Pro V1/V1x ($45)
*If you have the dough, this ball spins. If you're not an excellent player, V1's may actually hurt your game.
Value-Performance Balls: Callaway HX Hot ($25)
*A great ball in value and quality. Let this one fly longer and straighter.

Check out the full Hot List on Golf Digest's website and enjoy. If you're not looking for new clubs, feel free to peruse and look for it cheap in a year or two.

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The world's number four player, Phil Mickelson, will begin to design signature golf courses. Following in the footsteps of Tiger, Phil will look to integrate his view of great golf courses into several resorts.

It looks like Michelle Wie's fifteen minutes of fame might be over. Of course, she's young and still has many years to improve, but in the mean time, a new teen will take over her spotlight. While Wie fired a 78 and a 76, good for 139th, another Hawaiian was busy collecting a top twenty finish.

3. Wie has a multimillion dollar deal with Nike, Fujikawa pays his own way.

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Paul Goydos had three birdies in the final four holes at the Sony Open for his first victory in 11 years. He made a birdie on the last hole.

Charles Howell, III and Luke Donald tied for second. Goydos beat them by one stroke. He won $936,000 for the win. That is more money than Goydos earned in the entire 2006 season.

Vijay Singh finished the day tied for 34th place. He still ranks #1 on the FedEx Cup points list.