That's Not a Wine Bottle, It's Your Putter!

The only time most golfers think of cork is when they sniff one that's come out of a wine bottle (although that doesn't apply to those of us who gravitate to vintages with screw-tops). That's about to change. A Portuguese company, The Cork Tree, has debuted four new putter grips made of cork leather.

The Cork Tree, the world's first company to produce golf products in cork leather, was co-founded by Nuno Nascimento and Marc Boggia. Nascimento was born into a family with a cork oak forest and learned the business of commercializing the material from his grandfather. Boggia, an Englishman, has been a member of the British PGA since 1981. He's also a golf entrepreneur, course owner, and partner in indoor golf teaching facilities in Asia. The Cork Tree's golf bag was awarded the first place award at the Golf Europe 2013 show in the golf bag category and lead to the launch of the cork putter grips.

Why cork? The company says it's proven to be the perfect complement to leather in a grip. Cork is 100% natural, feels soft in the hands, and proves its playability well beyond other materials when a golfer's hands are hot or sweaty -- as well as in humid playing conditions. "That means the grip won't slip in your hands -- regardless of how moist your hands are," says Boggia. "That lets you confidently putt away without any tension in your hands and arms, promoting a more fluid stroke. Once you try it, I know you'll agree that it feels amazing. Plus, it cleans very easily -- dirt wipes away with a wet cloth."

Cork's honeycomb cell structure is the key. Each cell is a 14-sided polyhedron filled with air, making it an extremely strong and flexible membrane that's waterproof and airtight. Cork bark is about 89% air, giving it a low density. But when it's compressed, air isn't squeezed out, because the cell membranes won't release it. So it returns to its original shape when the compression is removed. I'm no physicist, but I assume that also means moisture isn't sucked back into the material, ergo its utility for sealing wine bottles.

The four initial putter grips include the Midsize, Feather Light, Parallel and Tour models, all selling for $39.95.

Cork Tree says there are currently more than twenty PGA Tour players using Cork Tree cork leather putter grips including the winner of the recent Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.  A multiple major winner on the PGA Tour is also using the Cork Tree putter grip.

The Nascimento family continues to sell cork bark to the cork stopper industry from its own 500 hectares cork plantation. Conscious of its hereditary property, The Cork Tree family continues to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in developing, protecting and maintenance of the properties. Beyond cleaning and fertilizing the cork oak forest, the plantation continues to grow with some 40,000 new cork trees being planted in the past eight years. That's a lot of putter grips.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Orlimar Releases Tad Moore Putters

Orlimar has released its Tad Moore Signature Series of putters this month. Each putter in the series combines traditional shapes with game improvement features and a patented washboard face milling. The company says the putters give golfers consistency, accuracy and better distance control on every stroke.

"Washboard-face milled putters improve roll and performance compared to other putter faces," said Tad Moore, golf club designer. "I have found that new golf balls with different cover materials such as urethane react to the washboard face much better. The ball off of these putters has a better launch and rolls more consistent and accurate."

Tad Moore Signature Series By Orlimar

TMO - 1: A traditional blade putter with a carbon steel head and a patented 45-degree plumber neck hosel to give the player a better visual at address. The heel-shafted putter, features a cambered sole, sight line in the flange and is heel and toe weighted. The loft is 3.5 degrees, length is 35 inches, toe down.




TMO - 2:  A slightly wider blade with a carbon steel ahead and a plumber neck hosel, thin topline and sloping heel-and toe-weighted bumper. The sight line is in the flange with a sound slot that cuts through the cavity to the sole for enhanced feel. The loft is 4 degrees; length is 35 inches and is face-balanced.




TMO- 3:  A classic design of a wide-sole, heel-shafted blade with a carbon steel head. This is  a perfect putter for a player who putts with an arc, because of its open-to-shut swing style. The wide sole utilizes sight lines in the cavity to improve the look and alignment. The loft is 3.5 degrees, length is 35 inches, toe down.




TMO - 4 (TadPole): The perimeter-weighted non-traditional T-shaped mallet putter features an aluminum head for a solid yet softer feel at impact. It is a center-shafted putter with a long topline to aid in alignment. Rear weighting provides performance on miss-hits and the outer circular ring balances the weight on the edges to aid in the MOI, resulting in amazing, feel and directional control. The loft is 3.5 degrees; length is 35 inches and is face balanced.

"Customers are very pleased with the look, feel and sound of the putters," said Alex Resnik, product marketing specialist. "Tad has an incredible reputation in the industry for innovation and quality of work in his club designs. Our customers especially like the classic shape of the putters."

Custom loft and lie options are also available. Suggested retail is $249.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Putter Ban No Big Deal, According to Study

Most amateur golfers care about the putter anchoring ban just about as much as they did about the change in wedge groove rules--not so much--according to a study by Golf Datatech LLC, an independent research firm for consumer, trade and retail golf trends.  The company has released a study to evaluate the reaction of “serious golfers” to the U.S. Golf Association’s proposed new ruling that would prohibit anchoring the putter to the body while making a stroke. They report that a majority of golfers surveyed feel that their game will not be impacted by the rule, while the small percentage who use a long putter will continue to play with it as they please regardless of the ruling.

The study was based on responses from 1,766 randomly selected golfers drawn from Golf Datatech’s exclusive Serious Golfer Database, who play an average of 68 rounds per year with an average handicap of 14.3.

“This is such an explosive topic in golf that we felt the industry needed a benchmark for evaluating the opinion of the game’s most avid players,” said John Krzynowek, Partner, Golf Datatech. “On a practical level, the proposed ruling on anchoring putters has minimal impact on most amateur golfers, as only 5% use a long putter, and the majority of serious golfers don’t believe long putters aid in the putting process. Overall, however, the debate over long putters has far more to do with a few elite professional players and less to do with the game as played by the average golfer.”

Key findings in the Golf Datatech study on the Anchor Ruling for Putters include the following:
•         Among the respondents who had an opinion about whether or not anchoring the putter makes it easier to putt, 45% feel that anchoring the putter makes it easier to putt, while 55% believe anchoring the putter does not make it easier.
•         60% of respondents believe that the governing bodies of golf should ban the anchoring of clubs to the body, while 40% believe they should not.
•         62% of respondents do not believe the anchoring ban will cause some amateur golfers to enjoy the game less.
•         If the proposed rule is enforced in 2016, 31% of current long putter users will continue to anchor their putter, while 31% will not anchor against their body, and 38% will switch to a conventional putter.

For more information or to get a copy of the Club Anchor Ruling study, call 888-944-4116 or visit www.golfdatatech.com.


Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

My Season Kicked Off With A New SeeMore Putter

I recently finished my first three rounds of the year and have to say I'm extremely happy with the new putter I put in my bag--a SeeMore m3. I really like the red dot alignment technology that completely eliminates any doubt about whether your body is aimed where you want to send the ball. With that kind of confidence, a solid stroke is almost automatic.

SeeMore putters feature a patented alignment system that helps you set up your putter perfectly each and every time by lining up the bottom portion of the shaft between two white lines and covering a signature red dot on the heel of the top line. If you can’t see the red dot-—you’re good to go! It’s foolproof and available in a wide range of styles and sizes to fit every golfer.

D.A. Points used a SeeMore putter to good effect, too, winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am for his first PGA Tour victory. He also won the pro-am with partner Bill Murray for a double whammy. Points used a SeeMore FGP for his victory, the same putter he has used since early 2009. At the AT&T, he finished first overall in putting average, first in birdies, and second in fewest total putts.

There's a little backstory about SeeMore putters at Pebble Beach. The brand first arrived on the scene in early 1999 when Payne Stewart, in his first tournament using the same putter, won the AT&T and then went on to win the 1999 US Open. The SeeMore brand was re-launched in 2007, and immediately regained worldwide prominence as Zach Johnson used a SeeMore FGP to win the 2007 Masters.

My putting performance may not have matched D.A. Points, but I recall only missing a single putt under ten feet in three rounds last week, which got my year off to a good start.

In addition to writing about golf, Dave Donelson distills the experiences of hundreds of entrepreneurs into practical advice for small business owners and managers in the Dynamic Manager's Guides, a series of how-to books about marketing and advertising, sales techniques, hiring, firing, and motivating personnel, financial management, and business strategy.