Taylormade RocketBallz Fairway Wood Review: Some clubs we have no loyalty to (driver), some we nearly marry (putter), some we just  hang on to for no particular reason (irons) and some we barely think about (fairway woods). For me, I have aways been pretty happy with my 3 wood whether it was an old Taylormade or Ping G10. I just wanted to be able to hit it 200ish and know it would go pretty straight. Mostly it was to knock the ball down the fairway on a par 5 or make an easy swing on a short par 4. However, there are those times in which you need to carry water thats 215 so you want to feel good about your 3 wood (or your 7 iron if you are Tiger Woods). Given the fact I have never been accused of being a long hitter, I was therefore more than willing to give the Taylormade RocketBallz fairway wood and its promised 17 yard gain a test drive.

From a distance perspective, we at Three Guys Golf try to give you the scoop but without launch monitors and all that, all I can tell you is that I hit it farther on my home track than I usually do. I know my distances well enough to clearly say that much. The one area I did struggle with the Taylormade RockeBallz fairway wood was hitting it off of a tight lie. I think because the club is taller than most, I was catching it thin and hitting it low. The good news, is that it runs like the devil. With that said, I did get it figured out and can now hit it from any lie. While I may only hit it 3 or 4 times a round, I do love when it is “RocketBallz Time”

The club itself is really good looking (unless you are not a fan of the white club). On the back you will notice the “speed pocket” behind the face. This is supposed to create the extra distance. One draw back of the speed pocket is that it is akin to a dustbunny magnet. Depending on the conditions of your course, you may find yourself regularly having to use a tee to dig out the dirt or grass that has been forced inside of it. Not a huge deal but something I never had to worry about with my other fairway woods.

So lets just talk Taylormade for a moment. I sure get the sense that these guys are ahead of the curve in terms of driver and wood technology. Again, if you have come to Three Guys Golf looking for specs or actual evidence you have come to the wrong place, but if you want a review based on opinion and pure conjecture – bingo, I’ve got that for you. From what I have read, Taylormade went back to the drawing board with the Taylormade RocketBallz and designed the whole thing from the ground up. Hence the deeper face, speed pocket and large head. I know every company is trying to make a great wood, but it sure feels like Taylormade is laser focused on making the best darn woods in the business.

Finally, I just wanted to touch on the sound. While it has no real effect on the ball flight, I dig the springy whack the club makes. It just seems to tie the whole club together. When I picked up golf seriously in 1999, Taylormade was the first 3 wood I owned, now 12 years later it is again back in my bag, and likely to stay there for quite a while.

Sun Mountain KG3 Cart Bag Review: To those of you who primarily ride when you play golf – you know that beyond style there are a few must have features in a cart bag. Like a well seasoned business traveller, we understand the benefits of good luggage and since the only time we are going to carry this baby is from our car to the cart there is no reason to skimp on features.

Over the past 6 months I have worn about 7 pairs of golf shoes. Some I really like, some I kinda like. So when I had the opportunity to finally test out the Ecco Street Premiere shoes I was eager to see how they stacked up against the competition. Let me be clear, I am an unabashed Ecco fan. Over the past years I have purchased four pairs of Ecco golf shoes and to this day I cannot bring myself to get rid of a single pair of them, despite the fact I have more shoes than I know what to do with. Basically, I just think that Ecco not only “gets it” but they have the technology to back it up.

I still remember the first time I saw the Ecco Street shoes. It was during the Masters a few years ago when Fred Couples was in contention so the TV was regularly showing him strolling down the fairways of Augusta National in his Ecco’s san socks. Like other golf geeks I actually Googled “what kind of shoes does Fred Couples wear?” . . . they were just so cool and so unique. Now of course, everyone and their brother thinks they can make a street shoe – there are some good ones out there, but there is also some junk. In my mind Ecco still represents best of breed in the street shoe department in part because they are not only focused on design, but equally involved in developing new materials and improving ergonomics.

What do I love about the Ecco Street shoes? Well we can start with the style which is simply classic cool. They are not “hopped up on hip”, but still stand out from the pack. For me it is the little things that make the difference. Whether it the orange laces, raised orange nubs or the fact that the seams are clean and straight, Ecco shoes are easily recognized and always admired.

On the sole you have tons of spikes which provide ample grip and will not wear down like some of the other “alt shoes”. So sturdy are these spikes that I really don’t even try to avoid the pavement. And they are so comfortable, I often forget to take them off after returning from a round of golf. Oh, and I never have to change shoes on my bumper.

Sure, other street shoes can go from the house to the course and back, but the Ecco Street Premiere can actually serve as a regular shoe and I have heard from many an Ecco fan who say they wear them all of the time. Really the only downside for me is that they are not water-proof which makes them impractical for morning rounds when there is heavy dew. Other than that they are a perfect warm weather shoes and despite the fact they are leather, they do no feel hot.

So yes, my expectations were absolutely met by Ecco. While they are a bit pricey, $150, you will be hard pressed to find a better street shoe (unless it is the new Ecco Biom Hybrid shoe).

You can see the whole line of Ecco Golf shoes on their website.

Last week, I had the opportunity to interview the legendary, but often overlooked, golf instructor Jimmy Ballard. If you are not familiar with Jimmy Ballard, his impressive resume is outlined here and here. In short, Ballard’s methods are often summed up in one word, “Connection.” While everyone knows who Haney, Harmon and Foley are, the lesser known Jimmy Ballard’s list of students is a virtual who’s who of winners including Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, Jim Colbert, Rocco Mediate as well as Jesper Parnevik and Annika Sorenstam (via his work with the Swedish golf program). Moreover, Jimmy worked with these players at the height of their careers, so while Jimmy may not have the name cache as other famous coaches, he has a winning resume that would stack up against the best of them.

Golf Buddy Voice Review: “Hey, what’s that sprinkler head say?” That’s how most of us grew up getting yardage. Now it seems like everyone has a laser, phone or some kind of GPS unit. Don’t get me wrong, I am as big a gadget geek as the next guy, but similar to my relationship with Facebook, I’m just not sure I am still that into it.

Sure, when I got my first golf GPS unit I was kinda jacked about being able to get yardage to every spot on the course, but I secretly suspected this information overload was actually having a negative effect on my swing. Plus, I have started to feel burdened by all the buttons and electronics I seem to be toting around the course. Therein lies the problem – I want to enjoy the zen of golf while still having easy access to reliable yardage. With the Golf Buddy Voice I finally feel like I have bridged that gap – in fact, it took me only one round to appreciate how well the Golf Buddy balances technology and aesthetics – Steve Jobs would have been proud.

In my opinion, Golf Buddy Voice has essentially said “less is more,” which goes directly against the philosophy of every other GPS unit that is packing more features and buttons into every release (not to mention the increase in size). The Golf Buddy Voice is only about 1.5″ x 1.5″ and can clip on your belt, hat, or just be put inside your pocket. Instructions? Here they are:

1) Turn it on

2) Wait a few minutes for it to find your course

3) Press the button to hear a nice lady tell you the yardage

4) Shank the ball into the woods

Well actually, #4 is optional, but with over 35,000 courses pre-loaded and no annual fee, the Golf Buddy Voice is essentially your personal caddy. The first time I played with the Golf Buddy, I felt completly freed of gadgets and was able to get back to hitting shots (I shot a 79 that day, which is about 2 strokes lower than my average for what that’s worth). And to be honest, I am probably delusional to think I can dial in much more than the center of the green (don’t fear, Golf Buddy Voice has yardage to back and middle as well).

The only goofy thing I encountered is that the unit once thought I was on a different hole because the course layout was tight. However, you can simply hit the select button and the + button to toggle to the correct hole. Again, this only happened to me once, but until I went back to look at the instructions I was at a loss as to what to do because it is kind of like an iPad with only one button (it actually has about 5 but you really only use one of them).

So this is what you get in the box: Golf Buddy Voice unit, USB or wall charger, rubber protector. Despite the simplicity, the Golf Buddy Voice still packs a punch. Namely:

• Audio distance information (it tells you the distance)
• 40,000 course capacity (from all over the world)
• No annual or download fees
• Distances to Front / Center / Back of the green
• Automatic course & hole recognition
• Shot distance measurement
• Multi-lingual
• Dynamic green view
• Volume control
• Supports multiple greens

What this means for me is that I simply clip the Golf Buddy Voice on my belt, turn it on, and forget about it. When I get to my ball, I just hit the button and I get the distance to the center. You can also look at the screen, but I prefer to have her tell me the yardage. I can toggle through using the button to get distance to the front and back, and I can also mark my ball after a shot to get carry distance. In terms of the battery, you can easily play a 6 hour round with no problem.

Again, the key difference from a larger GPS unit is that I don’t have to tote it around or look like an IT geek with it clipped to my belt. When I compare it to a phone app, the big advantage is that it frees me from the device I hate when I am on the golf course (my cell phone). Yes, I know that sometimes getting yardage to carry a hazard is important, but that’s what I have friends for, right? Seriously, sure there is some information you give up with the Golf Buddy Voice but in terms of ease of use and freedom from bulky devices, I have never seen anything like the Golf Buddy Voice. I absolutely love the Golf Buddy Voice!

You can learn more about the device on their website.

Molhimawk SwagBag: Plastic or Paper? Yup, bags are a staple of our life and one piece of equipment all golfers must have. During my visit to the 2012 PGA Merchandise show, I got the opportunity to meet with the founders of a new golf bag company called Molhimawk.

Sundog Eyewear: So there I was…Wollaston Country Club, Milton MA, 1st tee with my two buddies, Rob and Martin. Temperature: 95 degrees, relative humidity: ask the devil since he seemed to running the show. First order of business, after making friends with the cart girl, was to set the odds to give myself a fighting chance against these two hustlers. Truth be told, l’m an index of 12 of 13…well I’m a 9-10, but I want one stroke per nine. Sandbagger? Sure, but heck I have a big money round next week against Karl and he feigns back pain – all fair in love and golf right? What’s that? Where did I get these shades?

So yea, the shades, they call them Sundogs. Groovy name, cool style, great lens and reasonably priced-we call that the whole ball of wax. Speaking of balls, how bout that big ball in the sky bearing down on me all day. Lucky these puppies are full coverage wrap around (Louis Oosthuizen style). Lens, yup, they have those too but no ordinary lens. Nope, the Sundogs have what is called a Mela-Lens. This patented technology is really what makes these guys rock. See, Sundog created these lenses to filter the harmful rays and make everything crystal clear.

Now you might ask, “Hey Skip, you said it was hot, but how freakin’ humid was it?” Well, Danny, it was damn near unbearable and for a while there we nearly had to call in the EMT’s to head off Martin’s heat stroke. As for me, sure I looked cool, but my brain was turning to mush by the 13th hole. Fortunately, the Sundogs were staving off the glare and refused to fog up despite the sauna like conditions.

Head down, thirteen foot putt…(that’s for dramatic tension)…sweat rolls off my forehead onto the lens and onto my ball…mind you no streak on the lens. I was able to finish for an 8, but that’s not important…Sundogs can bark for you when its hot and there’s meat on the bone…although gambling is illegal at Bushwood.

Check out the whole line of Sundog on their website.

Adjustable Drivers: If your current driver did not come with a wrench and a manual, you’re already behind the times. In an ultra-competitive market where clubmakers are looking for any way to gain an edge, the adjustable drivers have become a hot trend over the last few years; it has even trickled down to fairway woods and hybrids. As an owner of an adjustable driver, 3 wood, and hybrid, I would like to lob a few thoughts out there on the topic.

Wait, am I playing Battleship?

First things first –  I see two different ways that an adjustable club can be of use: 1) you like to tinker with the loft and face angle for different rounds, maybe depending on course setup, daily conditions, etc., or 2) you think you might be permanently better off with a slightly closed clubface or slightly higher loft than 9.5 degrees or whatever. I would like to address both golfers below:

Golfer #1: Hey PhillyMick, settle down. Hit the ball the way you hit the ball, the course has plenty of room for that shot. Actually, the truth is, I’m not sure many people actually go this route. It seems too high-maintenance for most golfers, and to effectively pull it off would require an insane amount of range time to even know what you get out of each configuration. And I would hope that most folks understand that by tinkering with loft and/or face angle, you’re not simply dialing in a pre-programmed ball flight – you are also affecting your quality of contact, smash factor, etc., so you’d most often be better off just dancing with the one that brought ya.

Golfer #2: This guy’s a little less insane. It could be that during your clubfitting process, the pro determined that a 9.75 degree loft works a bit better for you than a 9.5 degree loft. Depending on where you stand with launch monitors, squeezing an extra 4 yards out of a club, etc., this could either be really cool or really annoying. As someone who is susceptible to being seduced by launch monitor stats, I can’t hold it against anyone for believing that a .25 degree loft difference could be worthwhile; and of course, you can only achieve and test these funky lofts with an adjustable driver.

“Now see with this lie angle . . .  hmmm . . . you still suck.”

When it comes to face angle, the adjustable club kind of loses me again. I’ve watched a video where Geoff Ogilvy describes why a slightly closed clubface works for him, and it makes total sense . .. shoot, even if I didn’t think it made sense, I would never question what a rockstar pro is up to when it comes to equipment. But for an everyday golfer, I just can’t get over the idea that tweaking the face angle of a club is also a way to perpetuate an inherent swing flaw. Since your irons are not yet adjustable, any idiosyncracy that is ironed over in the driver swing by an altered face angle would surely pop its head up with the irons, right? And an even more purist take would be to say that most golfers are striving to have a fundamentally sound swing, so let’s stay in neutral and work the kinks out on our own.

For argument’s sake, let’s say you just shouted “bollocks” to that last sentence and that you see nothing wrong with utilizing a slightly closed clubface to fight that slice. I actually have nothing wrong with that, honestly, but my experience with my adjustable clubs is that, over time, the doubts eventually start to creep in. Like most amateurs, I am not settled in to a swing that I am 100% happy with and will stick with for the rest of my life (hopefully, jeesh).  Also, my swing can be squirrely enough that a consistent factor like face angle will not yield consistent results – I’m still going to hit bad shots. And as time goes on and the bad shots accumulate, I inevitably start to wonder if this tweaked clubface is doing me more harm than good. Geoff Ogilvy knows his swing . . . we amateurs do not. Ultimately, we should be more concerned with a quality swing over the long-term than we are with short-term results, because like anything in life, the quick payoff is never the best solution.

I’ll wrap this up. Adjustable drivers are obviously no worse than any other driver, and perhaps for a handful of ADHD cases, they are a superior weapon of choice. If you like the way an adjustable club hits the ball best, by all means pull the trigger on a purchase . . . it’s a harmless option if, like me after month 1, you keep that wrench in it’s little dopp kit and go about your business. But if you happen to start digging a club that doesn’t have 14 different configurations, don’t beat yourself up over it – you’re not missing a thing.

Tracey Lynn golf attire is a clothing line where fitness, style, and femininity all come together. Tracey Blake is the owner of Tracey Lynn golf attire and for years she had searched for fashionable clothes to wear on the course. Unfortunately, Tracey suffered a life altering event that left her paralyzed from the neck down for 3 months. During her lengthly ICU visit Tracey reevaluated her life. After she recovered, Tracey started her own company for women who want “fashion with function.”

When I first went to her website, my first impression was that the line was very frilly as many styles featured ruffles or prints. However, after taking a closer look I found many collections that were both sporty, great looking and versatile.
While the gear we get typically comes in a plain box, Tracey Lynn sent my outfit as she handles all of her orders – beautifully wrapped in a bright green tissue paper with a Tracey Lynn sticker holding it in place. Honestly, I felt as if I was opening a birthday present (yeah me!). This attention to the detail is always a sign of a company that truly cares. So I guess it was just icing on the cake when I read the enclosed card that said  “America is Beautiful, proudly made in the USA.” How refreshing to find quality golf products that are made right here in the USA.

Tracey Lynn Golf uses Sportek® performance fabric, which lets you move and stretch with confidence. The material and cut are designed for women who want to look good and feel good about their figure. The lines of their clothes allow for stretch to adjust to the shape of your body, but not look tight or constricting. Tracey Lynn not only has SPF protection, but it also is wicking so you can stay cool and dry while on the course. Additionally, Tracey Lynn clothing never needs to touch an iron – it looks great and ready to wear after washing and folding or hanging!

Tracey Lynn’s skorts have either LYCRA® or Spandex. The skort I have has Spandex and I love the way it fits. All of Tracey Lynn’s skorts include an elastic waistband, which makes them extremely comfortable and flattering. My skort has two hidden pockets underneath and a back pocket that has a Velcro® closure. But my favorite thing about the skort is the fuchsia stitching. It seems as if this skort would be a fit for any body type because the stitching appears to break the skort up into individual panels that stretch and give exactly where necessary!

The Tracey Lynn shirt that I have is the same fuchsia color that is in the stitching in my skort. SO cute! It also has a micropoly/lycra blend that is wicking and has UV protection. Yet what I love most about this shirt is the zipper. It is not a short zipper made for looks. It is a long zipper that is functional and you can adjust it to your personal style. The pull on the zipper is a round circle about the size of a penny. Not only is it stylish, but it is easy to adjust.

Here is the real reason I fell in love with this outfit: I played 36 holes with my husband in the 85 degree heat. Tracey Lynn’s clothes are truly wicking, and I never felt overheated or uncomfortable. After golf, we went straight out to dinner with Susan and her husband. Yes, I was still in my Tracey Lynn outfit and even got compliments on my outfit at the restaurant. If that is not the true test for cute, functional golf clothes that make you feel good, I don’t know what is!

So ladies, go check out the Tracey Lynn website. Whether your style is classic or more fun and daring, Tracey Lynn truly has something for everyone.

Linksoul Golf Shirt: You know what is always in? Cool. Cool is always in and I think that is the essence of what Linksoul is about. Linksoul is the brainchild of long-time fashion designer John Ashworth. Now I would love to tell you more about the company, but their website is a virtual DaVinci Code that either requires the aid of Tom Hanks to decipher or the coolness of James Dean to comprehend.

So when we had the opportunity to review a Linksoul Golf shirt I literally had no idea what to expect other than hopefully something cool?  From my research, I surmised that Linksoul made comfortable clothes but honestly the catalog is so mysteriously cool (Blogger Matt called it something else) that I was hopelessly confused as to what Linksoul makes. Seriously, you think I am joking-I challenge you to check out their website and figure out what they make or how to buy it in less than 10 minutes.

So in the end, what I got was a black cotton shirt with a single pocket. No big deal, right? Well I am not going to say it is earth changing but it is one hell of a good looking and comfortable shirt. This thing can be worn anywhere with anything and you will always look money (especially when you go to the bar with no name).

So where is this bar? oh, and by the way, that shirt is money!

Seriously, it does not need to be ironed, you can tuck it in, not tuck it in, wear it with jeans, go out on the town or wear it on the golf course, it just does not matter – you will always look great. Oh, and it is about the softest cotton I have ever worn. So you get the point, this is a crazy hip company but they back it up with crazy comfortable stuff.

So yes, I am making fun of the incredibly hip nature of Linksoul, but let me be clear, they make really cool stuff that is brilliantly well made and versatile. Unfortunately, we only saw one item of their line and without my decoder ring, I cannot really tell you what their other stuff looks like but my guess it that it is all super cool, super soft and super well-made.

Linksoul is can be found in a number of golf clubs across the country. You can learn more (or try to) on their website.

“Sometimes It Has to Get Worse Before It Can Get Better”

The pro that I learned from used to say this a fair amount while working on his own swing, which was not particularly comforting when I too was trying to improve my own game. Worse still is when you feel like you are making progress but then suddenly it all goes to hell in the middle of a round. All too often, many players find themselves in the position where things are not going at all to plan, but are at a loss as to the root of the problem.

For example, today, I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn… well, actually, that might have been all I hit (that and a few ponds and creeks). What was more frustrating for me was that just 24 hours earlier I shot in the mid 70’s (my usual handicap). Still, I guess there were warning signs –  for the past few weeks I have been losing power and starting to pull my drives.

The Diagnosis: Not enough shoulder coil and mis-alignment

Two things every golfer must do are 1) coil their lead shoulder behind the ball and 2) be properly aligned to the target. When you do not make a good coil of your body to get your lead shoulder back under your chin, you lose power. Secondly, from an alignment standpoint, most amateurs are too closed at address. I covered this issue in detail in my Golf’s Great Illusion post. It’s very easy to be too closed at address which gives you no choice but to swing across yourself, for the above-mentioned pull, rather than down the target line.

The Remedy

Sometimes you need to step back and attack the issue from a different angle in order to get ‘unstuck.’ Having access to a video of your swing can be an invaluable way to see flaws in your setup and swing. If you are on your own on the range, another way to get “unstuck” is to start with simple half and three quarter shots, to better feel how the club face is behaving through impact. The ball doesn’t lie, and it’s flight can help you discern between what you feel you are doing, and what you are actually doing.  Another exercise is to make half or three-quarter swings, and try to work the ball. The below video is a good illustration of how Jimmy Ballard teaches how to hit a draw.

Fundamentally, the Ballard swing is a swing that produces a very square club face at impact, and that’s what makes hitting straight shots so easy. Key to this is to stand tall and align yourself properly. For me, it was helpful to make a slightly exaggerated swing from the inside, where I let the toe turn over a little through impact, to provide a slight draw. Then I would come back and hit fades, by aligning myself the other way, where I was swinging slightly more steeply and a bit across the line. Finally, I could setup normally, and feel the club travel down the target line, and release properly. While the tendency is to hit full swings, I find it more useful to only hit  half and three-quarter shots to simply focus on where the club face was travelling through impact, and it was very easy from there to start hitting full shots again.

As any golfer knows, rounds don’t always work out as planned, and I am sure my next round will be an adventure but that’s why we play the game, I suppose. So the next time you get in a slump remember: ‘sometimes it has to get worse before it can get better’.

Arnie Wear: Ever find yourself watching reruns of the 1971 US Open and being mesmerized – not by the shotmaking but by the idea that somehow these men were not told by their wives to go back and put on a pair of slacks that actually fit? Well my hand is raised for sure, but as it turns out, there were apparently some hidden gems of style buried amongst the ill-fitting, poorly matched fashions of yesteryear . . . all we needed was access to the closet of perhaps one of the coolest men to walk the fairways – Arnold Palmer!

Can I get those in a size 40?

Coming off of their recent success, the guys at Quagmire Golf teamed up with Arnold Palmer to design a new line of clothing called…..wait for it…Arnie Wear. The idea is simple, take the essence of Arnold Palmer’s style throughout the decades and modernize it to make it 2012 fashionable.

The story of how this was done is actually just as cool as the product itself. From what I was told, the Quagmire team literally raided Arnold Palmer’s closets to photograph hundreds of outfits he had saved. Apparently Arnie has not heard of the PTA Thrift Store.

From that exercise in hoarding has come three lines of clothes, one for each decade: 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. While not as dramatic as the original Arnie duds, you can definitely see the DNA of Arnie’s old outfits in every item. The three shirts we looked at all came from the sixties – specifically, we saw the “Role Model”, “Albatross” and “Sam”. Here at Three Guys Golf Blog central, we all agreed that by far, the “Sam” and its wide green stripes was pure money!

The “Sam” is 95% polyester so technically it should be a product of the 70’s. Fortunately, this polyester is a bit lighter and cooler than its predecessor. Like most high performance shirts, Arnie Wear is breathable, moisture wicking and anti-bacterial. However, what makes this shirt pop is the large stripes and huge Arnie logo (Ralph Lauren Polo eat your heart out). So while the “Sam” shirt looks completely unique, it does not look over the top or out of place on the course. I would go so far as to say it has become one of my favorite golf shirts. Plus I actually saw Ryan Moore wear this exact same shirt during the Wells Fargo Championship, and that dude has serious style.

They say fashion always comes around so I guess it should come as no surprise that we are willing to go back 50 years to re-define cool. Fortunately, Arnold Palmer was and is one cool cat (and makes one heck of a good iced tea too). As I said, I love the “Sam” shirt, but to be honest, some of the Arnie Wear styles do seem to be directed toward an older crowd or are at least hindered by the fact that not all fashions in the 60’s were necessarily cool.

With that said, there is plenty of good stuff to choose from in the catalog and what I really like about all of the styles is that they are incredibly wearable by regular guys with regular builds, which as we all know is not par for the course with the euro trends these days. Arnie Wear can be found at many high end golf clubs and also in select online retailers for about $80.

Channel your inner Arnie!

You can learn more about the whole line on the Arnie website.

Pinehurst Golf Trip: If you somehow “lucked into” being in charge of organizing your buddy golf trip you know just how much work it can be. Fortunately, there are few things more fun than heading out of town for a few days of golf with all your buddies. So if you are in that unenviable position of outing organizer, let me give you a few ideas for a Pinehurst trip that I have picked up over the years.

You know how much most bloggers get paid? Yup –  nothing, squat, zippo, nada. Sure we sometimes get some free swag but honestly with the time we spend, we would be better served learning the phrase “would you like fries with that?” Now, before you tune me out as a spewing hateful blogger, let me get to the point. If you enjoy reading blogs then every once in a while you owe it to yourself to help out just a bit. No I am not passing the hat to support my golf habit but I am suggesting that you support worthy fundraising done by your friendly neighborhood bloggers.

I recently found out about an event called The Death Valley Challenge (DVC). The DVC is the dream-child of blogger Mathew Wangrycht who writes the The Breakfast Ball. The basic concept is that Mathew and his buddy will be playing golf in a virtual hell to raise money for the 1st Tee of Southern Nevada. Not a bad idea and a worthy cause right? So the way I look at the situation, it’s an easy way for me to give back to the game I love and show a little suport for a golf blogger who provides me a bit of interesting prose. Two birds, one stone as they say.

Do you have any 12:30 Tee times?

I am not saying you need to dig deep, but a few bucks is a nice gesture of support. It only takes like 2 minutes and you will feel much better about yourself. So how about it? You can donate by just clicking on the below flyer.

Even though I am the smallest male in my family, no one except my brothers has ever called me scrawny. I am not heavy mind you, just “big boned” as they say. So if  you are built anything like me, you know you need a little more room in your golf shirt than some of the current tight-fitting fashions provide. And no, we are also not wearing a lot of white belts and plaid bell-bottoms. Nope, we like a shirt that is comfortable, breathes well and helps you look like you’ve still got some muscles under the bit of winter layering that you still like to keep around, in case of… well in case of winter.

So, along those lines, was I very glad to have the opportunity to review the Oxford Golf shirt. I will tell you that I don’t hype something without cause and as Adam will attest, it’s pretty clear which gear I like as I tend to put it into the heavy rotation once I decide I like it. Of course the added bonus (for me at least) is that my wife digs the Oxford Golf shirt too (and she does not give the universal thumbs up).

The first impression you get from the Oxford Golf shirt is that the material is a true ‘cut above.’ This muy-breatheable fabric is really lightweight, soft, and it’s as well-fitting as anything I’ve tried (and better than most). In terms of performance, I walked an 18-hole round recently in 90 degree heat and came off the course exhausted and dying of thirst, but the shirt was dry.  Check one.

I’ve already mentioned that it’s roomy, but the material also has a bit of stretch which gives you that extra room to swing and play without any rub or tension from the shirt, but it doesn’t look like it’s drowning me either. It’s long enough to wear untucked but it also looks sharp when tucked in. One of the ways you spot a really nice shirt from just your average golf shirt is by looking at the details. With the Oxford Golf shirt, the stitching is top-notch, buttons sewn on securely and the seams are clean and sturdy. As a sizing note, the Oxford Golf shirts run true or just a little big. For example, Matt always gets a large but was totally happy with a medium.

Even though I mentioned that I’m not in the white belt crowd, these shirts come in really good-looking colors and patterns. The orange and white one I wear has absolutely gotten a number of compliments (and I don’t even tuck my shirt in). However, if you’ve got the physique for it, I would think you could pair this with a white belt (who am I kidding? I have no idea if it goes with a white belt since I have never nor will I ever wear a white belt).

While the Oxford shirts are not the cheapest shirts on the shelf (around $80), the quality is absolutely legit. Here at Three Guys Golf Blog Central we get to check out a lot of stuff, and for me, the Oxford shirt is definitely one of my favorites. Between the fabric, sizing and style, Oxford is a keeper. Plus, David Toms wears Oxford Golf shirts and we all know he is one of the classiest dressers on tour (oh and he is pretty good too).

You can see all of the Oxford Golf Styles on their website.