derek franks

TRUE Linkswear has completely revamped their shoe line-up for 2012.  It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the brand and the new shoes look great.  They feature a redesigned rubber outsole (the previous outsole was TPU) for improved traction/performance and slimmer profiles without sacrificing toe-box width.

Additionally, TRUE is releasing a new shoe, the Phx at the $99 price point, and will be releasing a $99 women’s shoe, the Isis, in May.

Full release after the break:

MONDAY 9 , JANUARY 2012

TRUE linkswear 2012 New Product Launch

Hello TRUE friends!

We are very excited to present you with our Spring 2012 Product Line.

We have a new style in the TRUE phx, and updates have been made to the TRUE tour and TRUE stealth.

The TRUE phx is ready to ship immediately, while the tour and stealth are on pre-order for shipment by January 30th.

Please visit our updated and improved website to learn more – www.truelinkswear.com

Quick summary of updates:

- We have moved to the TRUE Ergo-Traction 2.0 outsole which is made of Rubber, instead of TPU, and has a new traction pattern that delivers improved stability, performance, aesthetics and comfort

- The TRUE tour ($149) and TRUE stealth ($199) have improved leathers and design updates, like slimmer profiles without changing the toe box width, based on product testing and customer feedback (thank you!) along with 2 year waterproof guarantees

- TRUE phx ($99) launch – a great everyday shoe to go with shorts and jeans!

- TRUE isis ($99) – we will be launching our women’s shoe around 5/1 – sorry for the delay

As always, we have some Limited Edition TRUEs up our sleeve. Stay tuned!

Hope you all enjoy many a great walk in 2012.

All the best,

Rob

President – TRUE linkswear

I’ve heard worse. Not much else to say about this one really.

We’ve all been there. The first tee shot goes into the water. The second is a shank dead right. Who hasn’t wanted to toss the responsible club into a lake? For most of us though, the thought of having to go buy a new club keeps us in check. But if you’re like Sergio and you get your clubs for free… then it’s game on.

This one is just kind of creepy.  If you’re a die hard golfer near Bellvue, WA, you can now spend eternity buried in a bunker at the Sunset Hills Memorial Golf Park.

Yes, you read that correctly.  Sunset Hills has built a replica golf course/cemetery.  This gives new meaning to being “dead” in a hazard.  Be warned though, sand traps are reserved for cremated remains only.

The course will naturally feature a leaderboard where your name will be listed if you’ve reserved a “future tee time.”  I guess you’re winning if you’re still upright?

Sunset Hills (via SI)

Thanks to Phil for sending this my way.  Planet golf has a really interesting story on the revival of Royal Melbourne as a championship golf course.  Most Americans probably don’t know it, but Melbourne has been in drought conditions for most of the last 10 years.

So how exactly do you get a golf course in shape to host a major tournament without a reliable source of water?  Well, you build a $4.5M stormwater harvesting system.  Then you convert your fairways to a more robust strain of grass and you hope that you at least get enough rain to make sure you didn’t just waste millions of dollars.

Another interesting fact:  The greens are a bent grass variety known as Sutton’s Mix which has been in use at Royal Melbourne since the 20′s and is not found on any other course in the world.  Who knew?

Planet Golf

Move along… nothing to see here…

Sports Illustrated

Graham Bensinger recently sat down for an in-depth interview with Steve Williams. Yes, it’s a long video. But if you aren’t completely sick of hearing about Stevie/Tiger, this is worth a watch.

Tiger looked pretty good this week (except for Saturday). He may not be “back” but this is the best we’ve seen him play in a long time. Hopefully he’ll build on that for the President’s Cup this week.

Last week the Chinese government conducted multiple raids on counterfeit golf club operations in China.  They seized over 25,000 products from markets in Beijing and Shanghai.

This is part of an ongoing effort to stem the flow of fake golf clubs coming from China.  In September alone, the Anti-Counterfeiting Group conducted 4 raids that seized 80,000 fake clubs.

According to Michael Rider, Senior VP and General Counsel for Callaway Golf, “The number and location of these recent raids sends a strong message to counterfeiters that we are committed to shutting them down.”

“We are striking back at these illegal operations, hitting them where it hurts like our most recent action in shutting down some of the most popular locations in the world of counterfeit store fronts,” said Rawleigh Grove Vice President and General Counsel for PING.  ”We’re confident this will be a deterrent to counterfeiters in the future as we keep pushing to keep golf real.

The problem is that while the numbers sound impressive (and they really are), this is just a drop in the bucket.  When you shut down one market in China, 2 more will open up.  Personally, I don’t really have a problem with Counterfeit clubs per se.  If you want to buy some cheap knock-offs, then go ahead.  Nobody buying a $50 set of Callaway’s in China actually thinks they’re real.  The real problem is when the counterfeits get shipped over here to be sold as legitimate clubs.  Some golfer then ends up going on eBay and unknowingly buys one and wonders why his new super-titanium carbon fiber driver is shorter than his 5-wood.

To that end, I’ve posted a list of websites allegedly selling fake golf clubs after the break.  Also, for what it’s worth, the counterfeiters only bother going after the big name brands.  A rep from Adams told me earlier this year that they’ve never actually seen a fake Adams club because they’re not yet a big enough brand to have caught the attention of the counterfeiters in China.  Also, My Golf Spy has a nice guide on how to avoid buying fake clubs on eBay (they claim 24% are fakes).

http://www.711golf.com
http://www.bsygolf.com
http://www.cheap-golf-drivers.com
http://www.clubgolfsale.com
http://www.cwgshopping.com
http://www.discountsgolfclubs.com
http://www.discountsforgolf.com
http://www.drgolfstore.com
http://www.easybuygolf.com
http://www.easygolforder.com
http://www.ebayoyo.com
http://www.golfbargainoffers.com
http://www.golfbigdiscount.com
http://www.golfclubswarehouse.com
http://golfclubhotsale.com
http://www.golfdiscountnow.com
http://www.golfdiscountsale.com
http://www.golfinstock.com
http://www.golfleading.com
http://www.golfleadings.com
http://www.golfquickway.com
http://www.golfsale365.com
http://www.golfsetstore.com
http://www.golfshopping18.com
http://www.golfstaring.com
http://www.golfselling.com
http://www.golfsetbase.com
http://www.golfshop123.com
http://www.golfwholesale18.com
http://www.golfwholesaleseller.com
http://www.goshoppinggolf.com
http://www.gtbshop.com
http://www.hygolfcn.com
http://www.igolfyoo.com
http://www.istockgolf.com
http://www.lslgolf.com
http://www.linkchina.com/china/Club-Type_350105.html
http://www.maxdiscountgolf.com
http://www.mygolfwholesale.com
http://www.myprowholesale.com
http://www.mysurbuy.com
http://www.okeygolf.com
http://www.onlinegolf118.com
http://www.shoponlinewholesaler.com
http://www.sunogolf.com
http://www.surpassgolf.com
http://www.u1wholesale.com/
http://www.wowogolf.com

Examiner.com

Judging from the video, Kenny Mayne isn’t exactly a scratch golfer.  However, I’m not sure I could do much better 3 feet from the edge of a drop like that.

I’ve never been to South Africa, but if I ever go, this is on my list of things to do.  How often can you say that you’ve just played a 427 yard par 3 that requires a helicopter to get to and from the tee box?

Legend Golf and Safari Resort

Today was supposed to be the last day of operations for Hillandale Golf Course in Durham, NC.  The long-time area staple planned to shutter operations as of today, but late last week, Sun Trust bank, the trustee of the course’s operating foundation, announced that it was extending the closure indefinitely so that a possible deal could be reached with the city of Durham to take over the course.

The course lost money for the last 3 years in a row despite getting 35k rounds played last year.  How did they manage that?  Well, the pro shop owner Zach Veasey has (had?) what I’m told is one of the best deals in golf.  The foundation receives revenues from the modest greens fees.  This money is used to cover all of the maintenance costs for the course.  Everything else including food and beverages, equipment sales, lessons, etc goes to Veasey.  Admittedly, he runs a great pro shop, but it does seem like it would almost impossible for a golf course to make money (or at least break even) when all of your profit generating revenue streams are going to somebody else.

Veasey’s contract to operate the pro shop runs until March of 2012.  The deal that looks to be coming together is that the city will take over ownership of the course from Sun Trust’s foundation.  Then former Hillandale pro Karl Kimball’s newly formed management company will then lease the course from the city and take over all of the operations, including the pro-shop, F&B, course maintenance, etc.  This will effectively eliminate the city’s risk in the deal.  The city had previously been hesitant to take over the course if they were going to have to inherit and continue with Veazey’s operating contract.

The plans for the course will be discussed at the city’s Nov 10 council work session.  Hopefully they’ll be able to come up with an agreement that keeps the course open and available to the residents of the Durham area.  It’s really a nice little course with very affordable rates.  It’s also walker-friendly, which is really nice these days when many (if not most) new courses are cart-only.