What’s the best way to encourage the adoption of strange video game accessory? Right, bundle it with a popular video game, like Nintendo did with the Rumble Pak and Star Fox 64 nearly 12 years ago. (God, 12 years!) Now EA is helping to ensure that the Wii MotionPlus isn’t a huge bust by shipping it with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. The game comes out this summer, but no North American prices have been revealed yet for the bundle. → Read More
The Legend Golf and Safari Resort in South Africa features a world-class golf course with each of the 18 holes designed by a different professional golfer. The true magic is found in the “Extreme 19th” hole, though, which is a 630-yard par three with a tee box that’s only accessible by helicopter and looms over 1,400 feet above the green. → Read More
I’ve been playing golf off and on for about 20 years now and as a mid-handicapper, I’m prone to shooting in the low nineties thanks, in large part, to inconsistent tee shots. It’s no surprise that hitting your second shot from the middle of the fairway is a lot easier than hitting it from underneath a tree that’s located behind several other trees. And so we dance.
I took the train from Boston to New York in early February to test out Callaway’s new Diablo driver – a golf club based on the simple idea that a LOT of golfers tend to slice the ball off the tee, and that a simple way to correct that would be to slant the club’s face ever so slightly to the left – one degree, to be exact — in order to compensate. So does it work? → Read More
Hot damn, Tiger Woods 10 for the Wii is looking better and better all the time. Jason Shenkman, EA Sports’ Senior Producer for Tiger Woods 10, gives us a gameplay overview and talks about some of the new features for the MotionPlus-enabled game. → Read More
I spent an afternoon at the Boston Golf Expo this weekend and found a few interesting technology-enhanced products and services for your perusal. Please enjoy with my compliments. → Read More
That OnPar GPS device that we caught wind of last week has been captured on video by Rob over at Golf Views. As far as golf gadgets go, this one’s bound to make a splash thanks to the very iPhone-like interface and what seems like a relatively straightforward user experience mixed in with some pretty interesting shot tracking and statistics features. → Read More
Sure, it’s –65 out right now but it’s never too early to start thinking about golf. Savant GPS knows this and, as such, will unveil the “On Par” GPS unit in Orlando this weekend with retail availability slated for “early February.” → Read More
Fans of Golden Tee Golf might find a quick fix of the craptastic home version to be just what they need to tide them over between trips to the bar. I, myself, have been holding off on buying this little guy due to the $30+ price tag, the fact that there’s only one course, and the relatively mediocre user reviews. However, for $9.94 on clearance and with free shipping from Target.com, it turned out to be a good way to use up the rest of the gift card that would have otherwise sat in my drawer forever. Radica PTV Golden Tee Game [Target.com] → Read More
No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Come on, man. The UroClub is a screw-top container shaped like a golf club that you urinate into behind a built-in privacy towel. NO! It’s a simple three step process, according to the UroClub web site: “Unscrew the UroClub’s triple seal, leak proof cap, clip the privacy towel to the UroClub and your belt or waist band, discreetly relieve yourself and then get back into the game!” The UroClub started out at $50 but you can get it for $24.95 for a limited time. It’s been around for a bit, so I apologize if you’ve seen it before. Actually, I also apologize it you haven’t seen it before. Product Page [UroClub via TechEBlog] → Read More
Above, please witness what I’d purchase if I were the type of person who’d spend $500 on a single golf club (I’m not). The PowerBilt Air Force One – by the same people who bring you Louisville Slugger baseball bats – has nitrogen inside of it. Nitrogen! → Read More
Looks like all the wrinkly dollars you’ve fed into Golden Tee machines over the years could finally come back to you full circle (and then some) if you can take home the $20,000 first prize at the Golden Tee World Championship next week. Actually, you probably should have signed up by now. If you did, you’re fully aware that the championship will be held at the Las Vegas Hilton September 12-13 and will host 500 of the best Golden Tee players in the world. The total purse is $100,000, which will be divvied out between various team and individual contests including the $20,000 individual prize. The 20th Anniversary Edition of the game will also be unveiled at the tournament. Golden Tee World Championship 2008 [GoldenTee.com] → Read More
Here’s one man’s opinion: Nintendo Wii, as a gaming system, was meant for golf. I would have bought the thing if it was called the Nintendo Golf Simulator back when it was released. Nintendo keeps releasing non-golf games for it, yet I just wait for one game every August. Tiger Woods 07, released in mid-March 2007, was a pretty good first crack at motion-based golf on the Wii. Then Tiger Woods 08 came out in late August 2007, less than half a year after the first Wii version. I purchased it and found it to be an okay, albeit marginal, upgrade from the previous one but it didn’t feel much different, the putting took a step backward (if you ask me), and there still was no online multiplayer. I knew that going in and I made my peace with it because I knew that this year – this year – would be the year that Tiger Woods on the Wii really started hauling ass. So with plenty of time to really get in there and mix it up, Tiger Woods 09 has finally shipped. I’ve been waiting for this version for a long, long time. Let’s take a look. → Read More
I’ve been doing okay with the yardage markers and sprinkler heads on the golf course but maybe someday when I retire — rich beyond my wildest dreams thanks to blogging – I’ll be able to work on my game to get to the point where I need to know the exact distance to the pin. That’s where the GR-130 from Holux will come in. Or there’s the GR-245 Bike GPS, a product I’ll never use because it’s for bicycle enthusiasts. I don’t own a bicycle, nor am I enthusiastic about bicycling. The lack of enthusiasm likely begets the non-ownership of said bicycle. → Read More
They say that golf is a good walk spoiled. But nothing spoils a good walk like paying $30 for a cart and then playing like ass all day long. Sure, you could carry your clubs but let’s be honest, we all play golf for a moderate to slightly below moderate amount of exercise. If I wanted to lift weights, I’d go to a… you know… that place that used to take $80 out of my checking account every month even though I never went there. The Shadow Caddy sits snugly in between manliness and laziness while scoring some well-deserved geek cred. It’s very similar to any other type of motorized cart you’d see on a golf course except that there’s no remote control. You simply attach a transmitter to your belt and the Shadow Caddy follows you around automatically. There’s a simple STOP button on the device itself, which you press when you want to hit your ball or if you’re going to head to the green to putt. It’s been developed by an Australian company and was supposedly going to hit Australian golf courses in October of last year. Any Aussie readers out there who can vouch for its existence? If you’ve seen one, how much do they cost to rent? I’d definitely pay to rent one here in the US if they were $20 or less per round. via InventorSpot → Read More
http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf This year’s version of Tiger Woods for the Nintendo Wii should finally address some of the shortcomings of the first two titles. Most notably, you’ll finally be able to play online against three other players. What’s really cool about the online mode is that all four of you will take your shots independently of each other. So you’ll see little trails and shot arcs from your opponents scattered about whichever hole you’re currently playing to signify their shots respective to yours. You won’t, however, have to sit and watch every player hit, so a full four-player round won’t drag on for hours. → Read More
I betcha one of these would fit quite nicely into a golf bag. Maybe load her up with some barley pops and let’s get going. The Chill Stick costs a measly $11.98 — a pittance compared to what six beers in a cooler would cost you on almost any golf course. It’s made of neoprene, which is basically God’s gift to beverage enthusiasts and it comes in assorted colors that are chosen by the Things You Never Knew Existed store, so that oughta be a thrill-ride in and of itself. On a slightly unrelated note, isn’t anybody concerned about what happened to the rest of Green Shirt Guy’s body? Poor fella probably never saw it coming. Product Page via DVICE → Read More
[photopress:starwarsgolf.jpg,full,center] I love Star Wars and I love golf, and I always kind of assumed that they were mutually exclusive. Not so, as now a Japanese company has made this bad-ass Stormtrooper-head golf bag that I so totally want. Now all I need is an Ewok costumer for my caddy and I’m set, man. Set. → Read More
Wow, this putter blows the previously mentioned Star Trek putter right out of the water as far as geek factor is concerned. At $899, it costs more than most people’s entire set of golf clubs but for the uber-rich out there, why not pick one up? What the hell, huh? Might as well. It uses a "micro Inertial Navigation System (INS)" to "identify the putter face position in relation to the ball at impact and display the information immediately on the vibrant color LCD." It can then relay information to you about the tempo, path, speed, and hand vibration levels of your putts. Sadly, it’s not USGA approved. Adams DiXX Digital Training Putter [BHMGolf.com] via The Red Ferret Journal → Read More
Now I’ve officially seen it all. The Golfsmith Star Trek Enterprise NCC-1701 costs $130 and there are only 1701 available, which is probably 1700 more than there are golfers who are big enough Star Trek fans to buy this and use it on the course. It actually looks like a decent putter thanks to the weight-balancing warp speed tube thingies. Maybe I’ll pick one up someday, if only to freak out the establishment a little. Boldly go 18 holes with the Star Trek Enterprise putter [Tech Digest] → Read More
