Regardless of your preference for brand-name equipment or golf components, in the food chain of golf equipment retail sales, you’ve got the big dogs like Golfsmith, Golf Galaxy and The Golf Warehouse at the top. You’ve got the Nevada Bob’s, Austad’s, Golf USA and other smaller golf chains in the middle. Under them you’ve golf component sellers like Pine Meadow, Hireko, Diamond Tour and others selling their own equipment. At the bottom are the lampreys of golf; the sellers that have their orders drop-shipped from the aforementioned retailers and don’t manufacture anything.

My point here is that as the big brand names struggle for sales, the websites at the bottom of the food chain are disappearing in droves. What it tells me is that there is not enough business to go around for anyone. No one is making money and a clear sign of a health market, lots of competitors, is disappearing.

The economic realities are obvious in today’s market, but like a health food chain in nature, a healthy golf market can’t function without a lot of smaller retailers, websites and manufacturers. Each retailer caters to a different customer and if the smaller retailers can’t survive because no one is buying, that shrinks the market for everyone and its effects reverberate up the chain.

With the troubles at MacGregor Golf and the recent layoffs announced at Callaway and Taylor Made, it is only a matter of time when one of the big brands will decide to throw in the towel. Based on today’s economic realities, we’re in a state of denial if we think that all the major brands will still be in business come 2010.

He is definitely colorful, but it is sad to see someone self-destruct in front of your eyes. For the last two years, daily hasn’t even sniffed the Top Ten, yet he still get as much coverage as Tiger does during the first two rounds Its only two rounds because Tiger will make the cut and Daly won’t.

Daly’s take on the suspension was “it’s not fair in reality, but it’s probably fair in perception.” Huh? I guess he means that in reality he’s not being treated fairly, but it looks like he deserves it.

When PGA spokesman Ty Votaw was asked about the suspension, he didn’t even feel it was worth commenting. Daly is like a child without any boundaries. He drinks too much, gambles away his winnings, smashes spectator’s cameras and ends up in the drunk tank.

Daly went on to say “Tim and his staff have to do what they do.” You mean protect the integrity of the PGA Tour? “Truly and honestly, I wish Tim would get to know the facts better before he makes a decision. I would like to sit down and have a nice talk with him, tell him what really happened.”

Doesn’t this sound like someone that can’t admit they were wrong? That the world is against them? As a likely alcoholic that fell off the wagon once again, he needs to hit bottom before he’ll ever be successful again. Unlike a David Duval who just lost his touch and could never get it back, Daly has the touch, but his decision-making is getting in his way. As Alcoholics Anonymous says “the first step on the road to recovery is to admit you have a problem.”

Oh boy, what a snoozer. It was like watching someone hitting balls at the driving range. Sure professional players hit some impressive shots, but that is what they get paid to do. There were so few people on the course (perhaps it was closed to the public), the number of media types, caddies and hangers on probably numbered only about 50 people.

It was kind of charming that the pros were paired with their caddies, but to spend two hours watching aged professionals hit balls is a bit boring to say the least. Can’t wait until the season gets started again.

Why is that necessary? I’m sure that Phil can be an ?$*& at times. I’m sure Tiger can be that way too. Does it make Mr. Williams feel better and will it get him more endorsements? People call November and December the silly season. Perhaps because Tiger has been idle for so long, its made Mr. Williams a bit cranky.

According to Taylor Made a golfer can print out a special form, take it to their local retailer, order at least three dozen golf balls, wait 2-3 weeks, and presto, new golf balls will be delivered to their door with a preprinted number on it (mine would be 11). Wow!

So, after I downloaded their special form, I checked out the price. Ouch. These balls cost $39.99 a dozen. If I bought three boxes I’m looking at $119.97. Then if you add local sales tax (7% in Minneapolis) that’s another $8.40. I’m guessing they add shipping so let’s say it’s an additional $5.00. Total cost: $133.37. I’m going to pay that much just to put my special number on my golf ball?

Basically, I’m paying $3.70 PER GOLF BALL so I can have my special number on it and I have to wait three weeks to get it. I don’t think so.

Let’s take this a step further, how long do you really keep a golf ball? Two rounds? One? Five holes? At the rate I lose golf balls these wouldn’t last a week.

I think it would be much easier to just take a Sharpie (cost $0.99) and write my special number on a bunch of golf balls (75 used balls for $29.99), then add local tax ($2.10). Total cost: $32.09

Now I’m only paying $.0.43 PER GOLF BALL so if I lose it, I don’t care. I can also play 3.5 MORE rounds of golf with the money I just saved.

I’m all for innovation and trying to push the envelope, but I see Taylor Made’s substance-less marketing hype staring me in the face.

How is having my pre-printed “special” number on my golf ball supposed to help me?

As far as I know, other than Top 50 or Top 100 lists, there are only two national guides that attempt to rate golf courses across the United States: Golf Digest & Zagat’s.

Just recently I ran across an article from the Orlando Sentinel that explores the ratings found at the website Golflink.com and its Top 100 List. The reporter mentions that Stoneybrook West, a $32/round course in Central Florida is ranked #27, higher than Sawgrass (#42) and Pebble Beach (#81). Even in Minnesota where I’m located, the only course rated in the Top 100 is Somerset Country Club (#64), and the two courses that are considered the best in the Twin Cities, Hazeltine (site of the 2009 PGA Championship) and TPC Blaine (site of the Senior Tour 3M Championship) don’t even show up. How can that be?

According to GolfLink’s own website: “the GolfLink Top 100 United States Golf Courses lists the best golf courses out of more than 20,000 public and private golf courses across the country (Note: according to the National Golf Foundation, there are approximately 16,000 courses in the USA). Where most golf magazines rate golf courses based solely on the subjective views and limited experience of a handful of editors, our list is calculated from a more objective range of factors, including the preferences of up to a million or more visitors to our web site every month. This makes our Top 100 United States Golf Courses list the definitive online guide to the best U.S. golf courses, and a great resource for figuring out where to play.”

Yeah, right!

The “scoring” is based on a 1-5 Star rating system in five categories: Amenities, Difficulty, Maintenance, Scenery and Value. Like Golf Digest and Zagat’s, to obtain a rating, all you need to do to become a rater is sign-up online. My big problem with this approach is that scores obtained this way can’t be trusted.

There is no qualifications, no training, no guidelines, just opinions. A course rater might be the club pro, the general manager, the cart girl and the clubhouse attendant all signing up to rate the course, all giving it 5 stars. Also, the scoring isn’t based on a tested set of factors like the USGA’s par and slope rating, just opinions from a bunch of anonymous golfers.

I think that the Orlando Sentinel reporter said it better than I would: “You’ve got to love that through the power of user-driven golf sites, golfers can generate a voice in an otherwise smug world of golf course design. No offense to Stoneybrook West, but it probably wouldn’t sniff the top 100 on a Golf Digest ranking.”

So much for accurate golf course rating.

“Is is with great sadness and regret that I will be unable to wear the aforementioned skirt, complete with green and blue flowers, because women’s golf’s answer to Tiger Woods couldn’t get out of her own way.” Signed, Bruce

Teasing the golf world with a one over par first round of 73, Michelle Wie followed it up on day two with a quintuple-bogey 9 on the eight hole to push her score to 9-over 153 at the par 72 Montreux Golf & Country Club. This left her tied for 118th and 23 shots out of first. At least she can say she beat David Duval (that’s another story for another time).

According to the budding PGA Tour star:

“I feel my game is a lot better. Obviously the score doesn’t show it, but I know what I need to work on,” Wie said. “I gave it my best today and I felt like I did a lot of good things and hopefully that outshines the ones I made mistakes on.”

It is so charming the pure idealism that is on display.

Not to be stopped on her quest, she leaves the door open to more stupid choices in the future:

“I think if I played a couple (PGA events) in a row, it would be a different story. It’s just hard to play one and then one maybe a year later,” she said. “I think if I played eight in a row and I missed all eight, that would be a different story.”

I’m so looking forward to the 9th, and 10th and 11th attempts.

How will she entertain us then?

I don’t know who makes decisions for her, but in addition to being disqualified for a second time in a professional event (hasn’t she played this game on a national stage since aged 14), she decides to add insult to injury and accept a sponsor’s exemption to play in an eighth PGA Tour men’s event. I think at this week’s Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, she’ll fail like she’s failed many times before even though this will be one of the weakest fields on this year’s PGA Tour.

Why does she do this? Well, it appears since she has no official status on any professional tour, she needs to get sponsor exemptions on the LPGA Tour just to be able to play. She has one more opportunity to use an exemption to finish in the Top 80 on the money list. If she doesn’t she’ll have to go to qualifying school. Right now she ranks, I think, 244^th on the LPGA Tour (if she were a member).

I’m so confident of my prediction that I’m willing to embarrass myself in front of the golfing world. If you think that I’m crazy, put your money where your mouth is and tell me I’m wrong. I’d be happy to see this play out. If I bet wrong, I will play my next round of golf wearing a skirt (a nice blue and green one). I will also make sure that my attire is photographed and publicized on this website.

All you Wie Warriors out there, are you ready to defend you idol’s honor? As G.W. Bush said ingloriously in 2003 “bring it on”.

According to the Aichi Labor Bureau in Japan, the man who died was aged 45 and had been under severe pressure as the lead engineer in developing a hybrid version of Toyota’s Camry. In the two months up to his death, the man averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month. It appears that this phenomenon in Japan is called “karoshi” and such deaths have steadily increased since the Japanese Health Ministry first recognized the phenomenon in 1987.

Now as a follower of golf, I think that to keep the American workforce healthy, we need to play more golf and spend less time in the office. Based on these findings from the Japanese Labor Bureau, there is quantifiable justification for playing more golf. A dead employee is not a productive employee.

The next time that your boss asks you to work overtime, just point out that poor Toyota engineer and he may even set up your tee time.

Well here we go again. Now another Minnesotan, this time from Faribault, has been killed after falling out a golf cart during July 4th activities. He in fact fell backward out of the cart.

Standard golf carts are set so they can’t go faster than 14 ½ MPH and the back of most golf carts have some kind of rack behind them for the rigolf bags so falling out the back is quite an accomplishment. Unfortunately this gentleman wasn’t sitting in the golf cart, he was standing where the bags go.

His “friend” was a 47-year-old man from Richfield who was arrested at the scene. Over the weekend he was held without bail in the Rice County jail on suspicion of fifth-degree driving under the influence and criminal vehicular homicide following a death.

I didn’t realize that there were five degrees of DWI. I thought driving while intoxicated was DWI, unless it’s driving under the influence (DUI). Isn’t being drunk the same as being under the influence? I’m confused as to the difference.

The decedent had recently moved from Hollandale to Faribault to work at the local prison. Makes me feel really good about who is managing our prison system. Probably was interviewed by the same employment agency as folks that screen our bags at the airport.

Seems that all the elements were there for a tragedy; 4th of July fireworks, campground, dnking, country bumpkins, worked for the prison system, golf cart. Can you say redneck?

Wow is all I have to say.

Listen to podcast Golf Gear News #46.

Interview with the Guru: Audubon International.

State of the Game:
California golf industry sets up new advocacy organization called the California Golf Alliance.

Golf Around the World:
Spend your vacation at the GolfBall3000 Rally in Europe this September.

Component Corner:
Buying golf clubs starts even before the sale in assembly according to the Hireko Golf Blog.

Website Spotlight:
Golf joins the social media ranks with an impressive site called Stracka.com.

Our show sponsor is Golfknockoff.com.

Check out our new Media Kit.

Interview with the Guru: Black Ops Golfer.

The Newstand: Annika Sorenstam to Retire and in tennis, Justine Henin does the same.

Check out Golf Gear News 2.0 at Golf Gear News.

State of the Game: Six Overrated PGA Golfers.

Golf of the Weird: Golf Carts Don’t Make Good Getaway Cars.

Golf Around the World: Golfing in Bagdad’s Green Zone.

Our show sponsor is Golfknockoff.com.

Check out our new Media Kit.

I thought I’d provide a Day 2 update of the LPGA’s US Open. Let’s see now. Oh look. Christie Kerr, last year’s winner is only two shots off the lead. Paula Creamer is also two shots off the lead. Amateur Maria Jose Uribe, is only three shots off the lead. Where oh where is Michelle Wie?

Only sixteen strokes off the lead after two rounds. Our local fish wrap the Pioneer Press showed pictures after the first day. Who has the biggest photo? Not Annika, not Lorena, not last year’s champion Christie Kerr. No Wie gets the column inches.

I’ll concede that Ms. Wie was only 2-over in the second round, but that was way too little too late. I think it is quite obvious that Michelle Wie is never going to amount to anything. She’s never going to vie for #1 in the world, she isn’t going to win a major and her sponsors are not going to want to be associated with a third tier player. Sponsors and fans want a winner and at some point, as her contracts expire, the gravy train she’s been riding is going to dry up.

Sports fans will tolerate bad behavior, habits and hygiene if it they get what they want - victories. As Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis said so eloquently, “Just Win, Baby.”

This baby will never do that.

Face it folks, Michelle Wie is done. Toast. Stick a fork in her. She’s been overhyped and overpaid. Nike should re-read their endorsement contract to see if there’s an out clause. She should concentrate on getting her degree at Stanford because there are no jobs for over-promoted also rans.

Yes, I’m bitter. Partially because I believed some of the hype a few years ago. But I’m really ticked off now because the media is so gullible to this hype. Let’s take a quick tour of the headlines from our media brethren before she took her first swing at the LPGA US Open this week:

The Pioneer Press in St. Paul: The Resurgence of Michelle Wie
The San Jose Mercury News : Wie: I Think I Can Win U.S. Open
The Charlotte Observer : Wie Says She’s On Upswing
The USA Today : With Injury Behind Her, Wie Poised to Make Noise at Open

After she took her first swing:

The Baltimore Sun : Wie cards 9 at Women’s Open, already out of contention
Reuters : Nine an ugly number for Wie at U.S. Women’s Open
The USA Today : Wie stumbles to a 9 on 9th hole at Open

And my favorite is from the Chris Baldwin, a realist at Worldgolf.com. I wanted to point out some of his eloquent prose too: Michelle Wie shows where her game’s really at with 81 in the U.S. Women’s Open. In keeping with the sports psychologist babble that earns more scorn from Wie realists than even her play, the reeling hype machine feels she is close though.

“I can spring back tomorrow and shoot a low round,” Wie said moments ago.

Yeah right. Give it a rest girl.

Some examples: twenty torched golf carts at Duck Creek Golf Course in Davenport, Iowa. In Manchester, England the Sale Golf Club’s greens were all dug up. The Pebble Lake Golf Course’s golf carts and greens were damaged . Chaska, Minnesota found its Par 30 Golf Course safe thrown in a pond. In Fergus Falls, Minnesota, the Honey Bee Golf Course (what a stupid name for a course) in Virginia got hit by apparent Satan worshippers . Even sainted Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, site of Tiger’s amazing US Open victory isn’t immune to vandals .

Maybe these particular vandals had a bad round the day before and decided to take it out on the course. Are they attempting to strike back at “da man” because golf courses seen so proletarian? Are these people members of some kind of radical environmentalist group that doesn’t think golf can be eco-friendly? Is it just wanton destruction for the heck of it?

In whatever way these folks are expressing themselves, they seem to take great pleasure in screwing up a perfectly good golf green that will take all summer to recover. With such a short season in Minnesota, all it does is hurt the golf course and those that want to play it.