Seriously, the USGA and R&A must be facing issues more pressing, and even existential, than anchoring a long putter against one’s chest or belly.  The health and future of the sport remains dicey.  Major initiatives are under discussion to make the game friendlier and less-hostage to rules as inscrutable as the Internal Revenue Code.  So why ban a club that may make the game slightly easier for some players, and most particularly now?

It’s not as if the Blue Coats didn’t have their chance back in the day, before belly putters became as prominent as Malbie’s Gut.

Former USGA Technical Director Frank Thomas, who made rulings on equipment for more than a quarter century, once said that he did indeed want to ban them.  In an interview with TravelGolf.com, Thomas lamented that: “Of all the decisions I made, that was the one that was overruled, unfortunately.”   But earlier in December, the former Commissioner of Conformation apparently changed his mind.

“I don’t believe that there is a problem with anchoring a club while making a stroke,” Thomas said on his Franklygolf.com web site in December. “The statistics used to determine the best putters do not indicate that there is any advantage gained when using a belly or long putter.”

But the argument against long putters endures, however tainted by hypocrisy that could almost shame a Congressman.  The gist is that holding the butt end of the shaft against one’s sternum or stomach enables you to make a more stable and consistent pendulum stroke, which is ostensibly an unfair advantage against someone crouched over a regular-length stick, gripping the club only with the hands.  As putting guru Dave Stockton recently observed: “I never understood how they could make it legal to anchor it on your body . . . when they outlawed Sam Snead’s croquet style with nothing anchored.”

Rhode Island-baserd PGA Teaching Professional and Putting Guru Norm Albergio, who has studied and custom-fit putters for more than 15 years, insists that the length of the putting shaft, and any anchoring, makes little difference.  “If anyone has an advantage from long putters, it’s because the heads are heavy.  It’s the weight that helps with the stability of a stroke.”  Cleverly, and to avoid lawsuits, the rule makers have not proposed to make long clubs illegal, just the anchored stroke.

Blue Coats Losing Control of the Game

One hopes the USGA and R&A get reasonable during the period of comment on the proposed ruling, and the years before it’s officially implemented. But I think their hypocrisy is driven by the sense that the ruling bodies are losing control of the game.  Helpless to bring golf back to an earlier Golden Age, they’re trying to force some kind of change, any kind of change, simply out of desperation.

A recent Google Consumer Surveys study found that 72 percent of golfers claimed they never read the USGA’s Rules of Golf, and didn’t care.  More than 60 percent took mulligans and claimed long kick-in putts as good. If playing in a competitive sanctioned event, or against friends for serious money, most golfers will follow the rules closely. In casual play we’ll even hit from behind trees or out of buried bunker lies if it’s fun and can be done safely; if not, we use a foot wedge and no one gives a rusty you know what, except for the self-appointment moralists, who may be offended by the aesthetics of long putters.

Indeed, with his left arm sticking out like some giant chicken wing that escaped Col. Sanders, Adam Scott used a 49-inch putter during a runaway four-stroke win at the 2011 Bridgestone Invitational.  Precocious Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson are winning with long putters.  Granted, the stiffness of the anchored stroke makes some golfers look like a mechanical stork.  But even conventional putting has often brought out the Inner Furyk; think only of Jack Nicklaus and that slightly open stance, tucked-in back elbow and distinctive crouch that suggested severe stomach cramps.

But does the anchored putter really convey an illegal advantage? Els once contended it takes nerves out of the game.  Phil Mickelson says it helps with short putts.  Others swear it calms the yips.

The true advantage of a belly putter is that enables old guys to practice without a debilitating backache, the great hazard of the practice green.  And it’s practice that makes for better performance, not the putter.  If the Grand Poobahs of golf ban the anchored stroke and inadvertently also outlaw practice, then only golfers who practice will be outlaws.  For me to change, the USGA and R&A will need to send a team of their thugs to pry the belly-anchored putter from my hands.  Resistance for a good cause is never futile.

The Scott Miller-designed Westin Kierland Golf Club with the resort in the background.

In the heart of “new” Scottsdale is  The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa.  It’s a luxurious resort with a world-class, full-service Agave Spa. With 732 rooms, the resort’s architecture uses materials and colors meant to mirror Arizona’s Grand Canyon.  Each room is outfitted with the deep-sleep inducing Heavenly Bed®.  Its 27 golf holes, designed by the estimable Scott Miller, offers wide fairways and well-protected greens that make for fun rounds, the essence of resort golf.  It’s also a place where management isn’t afraid to unleash and support employee enterprise, and experiment with different ways to entertain and meet the needs of guests.

At one of the property’s ten restaurants, the walls are covered by the art of Cuban-born Nelson Garcia-Miranda, a former deseo dishwasher who is now an artist in residence, painting in the restaurant’s lobby during happy hour, five nights a week.  It recently hired PGA professional David Fisher away from a private club in California as its “golf concierge,” a position that never before existed.  “My role is to meet and help golfers from the moment they arrive until they tee off, whether it’s to get them a bottle of water, a sandwich or sun block,” explains Fisher.  “I often go to the range and ask if I can get them anything.  Eight-out-of-ten times the answer is, ‘A new swing.’  And right there I can help with a few simple tips that will help them during their round of golf.”

At the Agave Spa, Fitness Director Steve Heller has developed a FORE-MAX training program, that helps increase flexibility, functional golf strength and aerobic conditioning.  It’s available to guests and local residents, but is designed to be incorporated with other services at Kierland.  There is, in fact, a satellite Cool Clubs facility here, so that clients can get their swing speeds measured before and after a series of FORE-MAX workouts.  “A five mile-per-hour improvement is pretty usual,” says Heller, “and we often see an increase of ten.”

Jeff Wallach, the crashed Segway and Kierland Director of Golf Kipp Bates.

The golf program is managed by Troon Golf and also features wrinkles not found at many – - or any – - other courses.  One is the daring use of Segways that can carry a single golf bag.  Players can drive directly to their ball, which speeds up play.  Learning to drive a bag-laden Segway, however, is a challenge of a different sort. Indeed, on our first hole of play, Jeff Wallach thought he’d stopped his Segway, only the “leader in green personal transportation” kept going on its own, jumping a curb, tipping over and driving itself down a grass slope, busting off the head of a rental driver and leaving a trail of tees, glove gloves and other accident detritus.

Another wrinkle here is the “Scottish Golf Experience,” in which players can wear rented kilts, sporrans, belts and socks.  (The kilt is surprisingly comfortable and no, we didn’t go commando.)  The idea is to time the round so that golfers come to the last hole near sunset.  That’s when Michael McClanathan plays the bagpipes – - as he has nightly for nearly a decade – - next to the lake by the resort’s patio.  There, the kilt-clad golfers can listen to him play while sipping several varieties of Johnnie Walker Scotch, and if so inclined smoke a cigar.

Dressed in our Scottish gear, Wallach and I were joined by Kierland’s Director of Golf Kipp Bates, who guided us around the course and relayed many of the back-stories around the resort’s innovations, and the region’s history.  “At first the Scottish themed activities might seem out of place,” he told us, “but there were many Scottish immigrants who came here during the early days of Phoenix and Scottsdale, who helped to build railroads and other developments.   This part of Arizona has a strong Scottish influence.”

Wearing the kilt reminded me of a wonderful Scottish Drinking Song that I only recently heard, the payoff to which is suggested in the above title.  Click on Scottish Drinking Song and enjoy.

The Ocean Club's Signature Seafood Tower.

Following our first night’s excellent meal at the Phoenician’s Relish Burger Bistro – - reviewed elsewhere on the Golf Road Warriors Scottsdale 2012 website – - dinner hour got downright serious. We consumed Great Cat quantities of meat, chicken, and seafood, quaffed beverages like a Dromedary pulling into Timbuktu, and still found belt-bulging room for exceptional desserts.  While our generous hosts were kind and attentive, we suspect they treat all of their guests in the same manner.  Consequently, for travelers to the Sonoran Desert, these five restaurants comprise an eclectic week of superb dining:

Mastro’s Ocean Club - – Just across the street from the Westin Kierland and near several other major resorts, the Ocean Club is absolutely packed seven nights a week, as tourists, convention-goers, locals and celebrities – - think Alice Cooper – - jostle for tables at one of the coolest establishments in town.  Excellent live music in the bar area sets a tone for food that’s refined, varied and presented with flair and style.  Our meal started with the restaurant’s Signature Seafood Tower, which included huge shrimp, oysters and crab legs on several layers of ice, and ended with several dishes including Mastro’s near-legendary Warm Butter Cake.

The original Mastro’s Steakhouse was a family-owned restaurant in another part of Scottsdale.  Now headquartered in Woodland Hills, CA, Mastro’s has three locations in Scottsdale, six in California and restaurants in Chicago and Las Vegas.  Because each is a certified hit, the company has plans to expand to other cities.

They’ll no doubt continue to succeed, given the quality we experienced.  From a special menu prepared for the Golf Road Warriors by Director of Events and My New Best Friend Tanya Queen, several of us choose the petite filet, a perfectly cooked steak, while others selected the Scottish Salmon, which could be prepared several different ways, including blackening.  The lobster-mashed potatoes were irresistible, as was the tall chocolate layer cake sitting next to the Warm Butter, all of which could be topped with thick whipped cream.  This, and the memorable service, is why Mastro’s is so frequently ranked by food critics as one of the top ten steak and fish houses in the country.

15045 N. Kierland Boulevard Scottsdale, AZ 85254 Tel: 480-443-8555 www.mastrosrestaurants.com

The Brat Haus- –  Open only since last summer, this Old Town Scottsdale brats and beer emporium has rapidly earned a reputation as a not-to-be-missed dining destination.  While there is indoor seating available, we remained outside in the urban European-style Bier Garden, at a picnic table next to a warming fire.  Starting with Belgian fries and a spicy brat smothered in homemade sauerkraut, what looked like a casual meal was anything but.

Dining out in the Brat Haus patio.

That’s what we learned from Chef Partner Payton Curry, a passionate foodie who incorporates fresh, seasonal and local ingredients into Old World dishes.  Indeed, Curry took us on a tour of his kitchen and cooler, where sausage making could clearly  get a much better reputation.  Along with Owner Dave Andrea, Curry has made a great effort to speak with guests who crave dishes “like Grandma used to make,” and to develop new takes on traditional staples.  Fried chicken and waffles, for example, is one of the Haus specialties, along with pork schnitzel and sauerbraten beef short ribs.  The beer selection to wash it down is huge and robust, making the Brat Haus a perfect place for a buddy group’s night out.

3622 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 Tel: 480-947-4006 www.brathausaz.com

deseo, at the Westin Kierland Resort - – Inspired by award-winning Chef Douglas Rodriguez, this upscale Nuevo Latino restaurant combines cuisine from South America, Cuba and elsewhere into creating dishes one simply doesn’t find elsewhere in Scottsdale.  The restaurant’s name means “desire” in Spanish, and it tends to define the unprecedented approach to Latin cooking.  With an open kitchen encompassed by seating at a bar, patrons can watch the chefs prepare ceviche specialties and more.

A Thai and Latin influenced cevice epitomizes the fare at the Kierland Resort's deseo.

Along with the excellent food and beverage is the restaurant’s artwork, all created by Nelson Garcia-Miranda, a former deseo dishwasher who is now its artist in residence.  Born and raised in a poor neighborhood in Cuba, the 65-year-old painter, who works in acrylics, was fairly well known in his native land for his opposition to government policies. But after reaching the U.S. some 13 years ago, he was forced to take a job washing dishes in Miami and later Arizona.  One day, he mentioned to chef Robert Madrid that he was an artist, and soon thereafter Garcia-Miranda received the unusual promotion in 2007, and is now part of the living mythology that characterizes much of the Kierland Resort.  You can find Garcia-Miranda in the restaurant lobby five evenings a week during happy hour, painting in what he calls the “Cubanidad” style.

6902 E. Greenway Parkway, Scottsdale, AZ 85254 Tel: 480-624-1315  www.kierlandresort.com

Orange Sky, at the Talking Stick Resort – - An award-winning restaurant that’s earned praiseworthy reviews from the Arizona Republic and Arizona Business Magazine, Orange Sky sits on the 15^th floor of the Talking Stick Resort and Casino, a huge facility with a 360 degree view of Scottsdale.  It offers pan-seared 17-ounce rib-eye steak, Maine lobster Chile Citrus Based Veal Chop, and Alaskan king crab legs, part of a sophisticated menu. The restaurant was packed on a Saturday, with well-dressed patrons who wore unusual amounts of sparkling attire and accessories.

The view from Orange Sky is, simply, outstanding.

We loved Talking Stick’s golf course.  We loved our rooms. We were a little mystified by Orange Sky. The restaurant’s sommelier was very knowledgeable.  And yet, there seemed to be as many servers as diners, and layers of supervisors to watch them, as they walked briskly and purposely through the room, but never stopped at our table to refill water glasses.  Our entrees were OK, but not when priced above $30.  Having said that, if you’re a guest at the resort and don’t want to leave the property for a substantial dinner, Orange Sky makes up for the mystification with its views – - of Scottsdale and the intriguing show put on by the other diners.

9800 E. Indian Bend Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85256  Tel: 480-850-7852 www.talkingstickresort.com

El Chorro Lodge - – An Arizona institution since 1937, the El Chorro was originally built as a school for girls just three years before Jan and Max Gruber purchased the property and converted it to a restaurant and lodge.  It’s a place that used to attract the likes of Clark Gable, Milton Berle and other celebrities.  But while some of the indoor-outdoor dining spaces have been expanded and modernized, El Chorro gives one the feeling of going back to an earlier time.

El Chorro's must-order sticky buns.

With gardens, fire pits and an outdoor bar, El Chorro features innovative seasonal cuisine, including herbs and produce grown on the property, prime New York steaks from Niman Ranch, trout almandine, and free-range roasted chicken.  I had some of that chicken in a very savory pair of enchiladas.  And it is famous for its sticky buns.  But along with the excellent food, El Chorro is in an iconic setting, with supremely views of the flanking Camelback and Mummy Mountains, which spectacularly change colors as the sun begins to set.

5550 E Lincoln Dr., Paradise Valley, AZ 85253  Tel: 480-948-5170 x208 www.elchorro.com

Receiving on-course instruction from McLean Golf School Instructor Pomp Braswell, at the SunRidge Canyon Golf Club.

With apologies to the Mamas and the Papas,  Monday morning gave us no warning of what was to be. And yet, on a workday that so many salary-men have come to dread, the Golf Road Warriors kicked off our best day of the week in Scottsdale, starting with a visit to the SunRidge Canyon Golf Club and a clinic at its relatively new Jim McLean Golf School.  We received a quick lesson from two of the most personable teaching pros I’ve ever encountered, and played 18 holes on a course that is both scenic, challenging and wicked, the latter adjective being a point of SunRidge Canyon pride.

Located between Scottsdale and Fountain Hills in a breathtaking Sonoran Desert canyon, this Keith Foster design opened in 1995.  Beyond the rough flanking the tight fairways is trouble, a desert full of cacti, brush, boulders and wildflowers.  Still more danger awaits in unseen washes, several lakes  grass bunkers and deep sand traps.  Although there are sublime views of the  Red, McDowell, Superstition and Four Peaks mountains that surround the golf course, one is well advised to pay attention to the course.

This par 71 plays at more than 6800 yards from the back tees, with a 72.6 course rating and a nasty slope of 142, which makes it feel considerably longer.  The seemingly benign gold tees, at 6400 yards, carry a painfully sharp 135 slope rating.  Although SunRidge doesn’t get as much attention as many other name resort courses in Scottsdale, it draws more than its share of PGA Tour pros, as well other professionals out to refine their games on a difficult track.

“I’ve played plenty of 7,000 yard courses and only used half the clubs in my bag,” says McLean Golf School Instructor Pomp Braswell.  “Whenever I play SunRidge, through, I use every club in my bag.”

A Few Very Useful Tips

Sometimes ranked as the number one golf school in America, Jim McLean Schools operate in Florida, Texas, California, Utah and Spain.  His staff does not teach a strict method of golf – - since body types and swings differ from person-to-person – - but work on several fundamentals of swing parameters called “the corridors of success,” to get the body in position for an on-plane downswing.  Proper posture, set-up and grip can eliminate what McLean calls “death moves” that will cause a golfer to forever hit poor shots.

The SunRidge school started late in 2011, and now has a permanent facility that includes an indoor hitting bay.  “Jim McLean has built an impressive resume over the years as a player, instructor and author,” said SunRidge General Manager Jeff Lessig. “We look forward to building a strong relationship between our organization to provide a solid venue for golfers to learn the game at the best school available.”

McLean Master Instructor and Director of Operations Justin Kemballa.

The McLean approach and SunRidge ambition are evidently met by Braswell and Master Instructor and Director of Operations Justin Klemballa.  A native of upstate New York, Klemballa has spent nearly a decade working as an instructor, including training at McLean’s flagship score in Doral, Florida, and time at its La Quinta School in California. With high energy and a playful sense of humor, the lanky Klemballa adjusts his teaching approach to meet a player’s needs and the time involved.

For example, as I was hitting drives on the range, which launched with a good 45 degree trajectory, he asked if I was happy with the ball flight, a gentle fade.  No, I said, because the fade cost distance.  Klemballa could have given me a strong grip or a very different stance, but simply suggested that with my left hand, I grip the club with a three, on a scale of pressure from one to ten.  “With your right hand give it a five,and see what happens.”  The drives started going straight, the easiest and quickest tip imaginable.

Each of us took turns being filmed in the hitting bay, with Pomp Braswell filming and analyzing 50-yard pitch shots.  Born in Harlem and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Braswell learned to play golf while serving in the military, in a Black Operations program.  A self-admitted beginning hack, the discipline clearly served him well as he improved enough to play for San Jose State University, and to compete on the Nationwide, Canadian, Hooters and other tours.  Before joining McLean, he worked at the John Jacobs Golf School and with the Dave Pelz short game operation.

Not surprisingly, Braswell quickly zeroed in on why I’ve been leaving nearly all of my pitch shots short for the past few months, which totally erased  confidence. The film showed that I’d become long and sloppy with my back swing.  Braswell had me narrow my stance and put the ball in the middle of it, and then move 60 percent of my weight to the left foot.  “Take a shorter backswing and come through the ball more aggressively,” he said.  “You’ll get it up in the air and the ball will land and stop. Distance control will come with practice.”

Course Work

After the clinic we headed out in two groups, with Pomp accompanying us on SunRidge Canyon’s front nine.  On the first hole, circumstances  put me out 50 yards from the pin.  Applying what I’d learned in the hitting bay, the pitch landed and stopped four feet from the cup.  And yeah, the putt dropped.

Braswell, Stuller and Wallach on the SunRidge Canyon front nine.

What’s more, during the round I put five or six other pitch shots to near kick-in range, which I think endeared me to my instructor.  Clearly, Braswell can play and teach. Unfortunately, he left my group for another as we headed into the back nine, which concludes with “The Wicked Six,” several of which are long, uphill and into the wind.  I was on my own and it showed.

Nevertheless, following golf we spent an hour in rocking chairs around SunRidge Canyon’s circular fire pit, nursing a couple of beers and snacking on several plates of beef and chicken nachos.  Soon, Braswell had to leave for another lesson.  We didn’t have much time for getting back to our resort, to clean up and get ready for dinner.  Check off another day with the Golf Road Warriors, Scottsdale 2012, but one where we all learned a new thing or two from a pair of excellent instructors.

With glimmering clubs in back-lit glass cases, putting runways flanked by runway-like lights, TrackMan monitors, video systems and computerized screens that supply instant feed back on putts and swings, the entire office complex screams high technology golf.

Cool Clubs was founded in 2007 by CEO Mark Timms, who had previously founded the groundbreaking Hot Stix Technologies, before selling his interest in the latter company.  The 28,000 square foot Cool Clubs facility in Scottsdale is not only its largest fitting center, but is also where it  assembles clubs for its field locations.  Working with most of the major club and shaft manufacturers, Cool Clubs fits and fine-tunes all clubs, from putters to drivers, to determine what works best for individual players and their swings.

On Day Three of the Golf Road Warriors’ 2012 exploratory buddy trip through Scottsdale, we spent a couple of hours at Cool Clubs, getting a complete back-room tour from Marketing Director Vito Berlingeri, and individual fittings for putters and drivers from veteran staffers.  I’ve been fitted and outfitted with irons by Butler, and am acutely conversant with the difference between personal attention and mass manufacturing.  Berlingeri’s tour suggested that Cool Clubs’ many quality control and inventory management steps – - and its use of what could be a million dollars or more worth of equipment to match shaft frequencies and other aspects of club performance – - brings ultra quality custom fitting to a larger audience.

With upgrades in shafts over standard models, combined with top quality club-heads, Cool Clubs is not cheaper than an individual fitter.  And it will no doubt cost more than buying clubs at the Golf Mart.  But as my Daddy always said,  you get what you pay for.  At Cool Clubs, that might be 20 extra or more yards from a new driver, or tips that make you a more consistent putter without changing clubs, which to a lot of us desperate players is an irresistible lure.

Mixed Nuts

I went through the putter and driver fitting process with Brian Eekhoff, an outgoing native of Montana who has been with Cool Clubs almost from its beginnings.  He asked my what kind of putter I’ve been using, and to offer a self-evaluation of my ability on the greens.  The answer is that I may be one of the best bad putters, or worst good putters imaginable.  I can lag it to kick-in close from 30 feet more often and consistently than my friends think is fair.  The problem is, I lag it to kick-in close consistently and often from five feet, lip-outs that cause my golf buddies choke in laughter several times each round.

Eekhoff had me stroke the ball with a belly putter similar to the Odyssey Sabertooth that I now use.  On the video analysis, the length of the putter, my spine angle and visual position directly over the ball, showed that I had a good set-up.  The test putter had about four degrees of loft, which caused the ball to jump off my stroke.  My Sabertooth has zero degrees, which is what Eekhoff recommends for my particular stroke.   What the fitting then turned into – - and it’s common with fittings for a putter – - is a small lesson.

“It’s clear that you would be considered a really good putter,” said Eekhoff, who had no need to flatter me, since I’m a man who definitely knows his limitations.  “It’s also obvious why you have so many lip-outs on shorter putts.”  He then had me put the ball a bit more forward in my stance, and made me aware that I was tipping my head forward on each putt.  If I held it steady and behind the ball, he said, I’d have better results.  And I sunk four of the next five ten footers.

The next day as we were playing the original Raven course,  I didn’t sink a single ten footer, and lipped out a few that were shorter.  Fellow Warrior Jeff Wallach, who’d also received putting advice from another Cool Clubs fitter, grew increasingly defiant as his new stroke didn’t work. He went back to his old ways and the putts started dropping.  We were clearly a mixed bag of nuts.

Fine Tuning the Canon

I personally had even more fun with the driver.  The test model similar to my driver produced distances on the TrackMan monitor that were identical to what I average on the course, drives that don’t go far but usually stay on the fairway.   My swing speed is never going to get much faster.  But what limited my distance – - and what could be corrected – - was a club that put too much backspin on the ball (more than 4,500 rpms, when 2,500 is optimum), and a head that didn’t get the maximum “smash factor” of 1.5, which is a measure of club-head speed and launch velocity that expresses how effective the club is performing.  My drives were in the 1.3 range, which means I wasn’t getting the most from the club-head and shaft.

Eekhoff put me through five different combinations of shafts and club-heads, looking for higher launch velocity, less spin and that 1.5 smash factor.  With each club we got better performance, ten to 15 yards of increased average distance, then 20 to 25 yards, after which two club combinations showed less distance.  The club that apparently suited me best was the new Titleist 913 D3, outfitted with a Mitsubishi Griffin 53 shaft.  Over six to eight test drives, it averaged nearly 30 yards longer than my current driver, and all stayed on the fairway. The cannon had been fine-tuned – - at least in the test center and on the TrackMan.

Whether that could carry onto the golf course remains to be seen.  “I bet you’d go back to hitting it the same distance,” said Wallach, who isn’t big on encouragement, but who may have had lingering resentment about anyone fussing with his putting stroke, however unorthodox.

While I’d like to give it a try and don’t feel at all ashamed at buying a better game, the 913 D3 and  Mitsubishi shaft are an expensive combination.  But if I can pull it off and try the new driver, I’ll post a follow-up field test report on whether Eekhoff and Cool Clubs got it right.

Cool Club Headquarters are at 7267 East Adobe Drive, Suite 115, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 (888)284-9292  Links to all U.S. locations follow:

• Scottsdale, AZ
• TPC Scottsdale Location
• Irvine, CA
• Dallas, TX
• San Francisco, CA
• Stamford, CT

This Antigua "Montage Polo" is in Lapis blue, the same color that was included in our striped polos.

During this morning’s round of golf on the wide fairways and well-guarded greens of Talking Stick’s North Course, three of the four Golf Road Warriors – - Scottsdale 2012 edition – - were wearing the exact same Antigua Desert Dry shirt.  With horizontal blue and gray stripes, the shirt itself is handsome, featuring Antigua’s 2013 line of “pop accent” colors.  In this case, the bold color is called “Lapis,” a much more brilliant hue than traditional blue, but which pairs well with the gray.

The only problem is we either looked like members of a senior golf team, or a trio of clueless dorks.

Since Antigua put the Warriors on the road with six different golf shirts, you’d think no more than one or two of us would show up with duplicate looks.  At least Jeff Wallach wore his almost solid “Apple” shirt, a bold color softened by small lines in a tight checkerboard patterns.  He received many compliments.  And, in fact, no one mentioned a word about the other’s matching wardrobe.  We clearly must have stuffed those shirts well.

What’s more, we all found the Desert Dry technology to be extremely breathable, loosely fitting and comfortable.  It wasn’t so hot that we needed to have the shirt absorb and quickly wick moisture, but in most other months in this part of Arizona, it’s a handy feature for a shirt.

A Good Year for Antigua

Decisions in 2012 appear as if 2013 will be a good year for Peoria, Arizona-based The Antigua Group.  The company was recently named the official golf apparel licensee for the upcoming U.S. Solheim Cup Team, which will compete against Europe in August, at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker, CO.

The Golf Channel Am Tour signed a two-year extension, making The Antigua Group its official apparel fore more than 60 local tours in the U.S. Antigua is also banking on new colors for its spring women’s line, adding brighter hues to its still popular and successful Black/White collection.

“These trending pop colors are used as subtle details, created to appeal to a wide age demographic of both male and female golfers in both of this seasons Men’s and Women’s Golf Wear Collections,” said Sean Gregg, Director of Product Development for Antigua.  Each color combination is designed to be merchandised together and to be presented on the retail floor as a collection, allowing the consumer to pair up merchandise readily for coordinating confidently on and off the course.

Among the other colors in the shirts is “Margarita,” a neon take on lime that is paired with a variety of neutral shades such as steel, silver and white.  Since lime green is an ascending color in today’s market, the company expects this one to be a best seller. Yet another hot color a lemon-drop yellow known as “Zest,” which also goes well with smokier shades.  The “Melon” orange may be a bit too bright for my taste, but Wallach also pulled that off a couple days ago.

Color Secondary to Feel

Color aside, I choose golf shirts by how well it feels, especially in hot weather.  I want a shirt that breathes, doesn’t restrict movement and dries out.  Hitting out of a bunker with a sweat-soaked top is going to leave you with a grit-covered shirt.

Said Antigua in a recent release: “This season new performance fabrics were developed with finer yarns to create ultra lightweight knits in textures and in flat jerseys and interlocks that update the hand, drape and appearance of the traditional polo.  By using the finest denier yarns available, Antigua has achieved super soft, super lightweight fabrics that provide the same coverage as other poly knits, but allow for faster wicking, additional breathability and less restriction in movement.”

This Golf Road Warrior thinks they’ve done it for 2013.  Now, if only we can get our colors straight and unmatched tomorrow.

Find Antigua on the web at: www.Antigua.com and ShopAntigua.com; Like Antigua on Facebook at: facebook.com/Antigua;Follow Antigua on Twitter at: twitter.com/AntiguaWear: Watch Antigua YouTube videos at: youtube.com/AntiguaWear

A sample burger at the Rusty Spur, where the ordinary and the weird go to eat and drink in Old Town Scottsdale.

At the Rusty Spur Saloon on Scottsdale’s Main Street, the walls are lined with old license plates, the heads of game once hunted down, and in late November thousands of dollar bills donated by diners, which go to charity shortly after Christmas.  Live music is played here throughout the day, and a large and funky character wearing something like a yellow snuggie is sitting at the bar.  Modern day Pony Express riders head here after the completion of an annual 200 mile ride. While the red brick building once held a bank, a real estate agency and other businesses for the majority of its history, it feels like an ancient saloon.

And the burgers served here are traditional and rich – - the stuff of old time Western cuisine, which is why it is the first stop on an Arizona Food Tours “A Taste of Old Scottsdale” walk and visits to six different dining establishments.

I’ve been to Scottsdale a dozen times and never before had the chance to see Old Town.  Don’t make that mistake, because it’s a highlight of a visit to the Valley of the Sun. It’s a place I’d take my wife on a visit to Scottsdale, and if I came with a group of friends I’d insist it be a part of the itinerary.  And the Food Tour is a great way to sample this part of town.

As we wore our  smart-looking Official Golf Road Warriors Antigua golf shirts, our personable guide, Zach, intermingled a narrative on the history of Scottsdale with the development of its food culture.  And, with more than 600 restaurants – - more per capita than Manhattan, he contends – - the fare is varied and increasingly unusual.

The bacon-wrapped water chestnuts at AZ 88 are a signature dish.

After visiting the old saloon we headed straight for a “modern” saloon, which actually started business in the mid-1980s.  With glass walls and high ceilings, AZ 88 could be a plain old restaurant, but is actually noted for its innovative cocktails.  And the food: The plate of bacon-wrapped water chestnuts is one of its signature dishes, as well a spicy “Hell’s Fire Chips,” which are sprinkled with bleu cheese and hot sauce.

We then visited a newer establishment, Outrageous Olive Oils & Vinegars, where the proprietor gave an instructive presentation on the merits of quality balsamic and how extra virgin olive oil is good, and good for you.  The tour ended at a restaurant made popular the last time the Super Bowl was held here, an eclectic place called Cowboy Ciao.  On the Tour our sample dish was the “Stetson Chopped Salad,” which had about a dozen ingredients.

On the menu was the most intriguing dish I’ve seen in years: Chicken-Fried Trout, which is marinated in buttermilk and served with a Thai chile/mint slaw.  This is not something you’d find in Tombstone back in the 1880s, and yet it’s the kind of dish you learn about on a food tour with A Taste of Old Town Scottsdale.

Now on the second day of our exploration of this city, it seems as if the Golf Road Warriors are concentrating more on food than golf, although we have played the Phoenician’s courses twice.  Tomorrow, however, will bring a full 18 holes and also a visit to Cool Clubs, an up and coming club-fitting company.  The weather is perfect.  And so is our memory of a walk through the past of the town founded by Winfield Scott, a Civil War chaplain who bought much of the land around Old Town for $2.50 an acre, but doubtfully ever enjoyed Chicken-Fried Trout.

The fiery S’more conclusion to a burger capped round of golf.

The ultimate measure of any golf course and clubhouse is the quality of the hamburger served in its grill.  Granted, course shot values and design variety are important to many players.  Others appreciate the architecture and amenities of a comforting clubhouse.  But without a great burger to finish things off – - like at the Tap House at Pebble Beach – - it’s just another round of golf.

For the three years at the Phoenician resort in Phoenix, the Relish Burger Bistro above its golf pro shop and clubhouse has been serving what is arguably one of the best hamburgers in the Valley of the Sun.  With eight ounce patties made from American Kobe beef – - which includes a mix of sirloin, chuck and brisket – - the burgers are served on a homemade challah bun.  The toppings include several types of cheese and for the “Cowboy” version, crispy fried onions.  If you want it, all burgers also come with a basket of crispy tater tots, a carbohydrate sin.

For the Golf Road Warriors’ first night in Scottsdale/Phoenix region, it was the perfect place for a dinner, with a fire crackling in the fireplace and several big screen televisions flickering with the NFL’s Thursday Night Football.  Could there be any better way for a group of friends to start a trip?

The Phoenician

Set on 250 acres at the base of Camelback Mountain, the Phoenician has been one of the most luxurious resorts, boutique hotels and spas in Arizona since it opened in 1988.  With more than 600 rooms – - including classic hotel spaces, suites away from the main building and even casitas – - the property has ten different restaurants and lounges.  With a “Center for Well-Being” and a retail complex, there’s no shortage of non-sporting activities.  For recreation, there’s guided hiking tours, a world-class tennis complex and 27 holes of golf.

It is a hotel where the details matter.  When you check into a room, the light in the bathroom is on but dimmed, a telling touch.  On the other side of the scale, the resort also has a $25 million art collection, so both ends are clearly covered.

That’s also true at the Bistro, which has much more than burgers.  With windows overlooking the golf course, the restaurant offers more than 70 types of premium beer, including many made in small local breweries, and a large selection of tequila.  There are plenty of side dishes on the menu.  And to complete the meal, there’s the killer S’mores in the photo above, with a fiery pot over which to brown the marshmallows.

The Relish Burger Bistro also represents a welcome change in golf and the hospitality industry.  It replaced a fine dining room that once offered a  tasting menu that cost up to several hundred dollars per person, with foie gras and truffles.  I can’t image Golf Road Warriors plunging into that kind of tucker.  Great burgers followed by S’mores,? Yes indeed.

A follow-up to a 2010 release, the book is invaluable to an international traveler who likes playing the best courses wherever he or she lands.

The France-based D’Algue Selection was founded by Gaetan Mourgue d’Algue, one of France’s finest golfers and a force behind the European Tour. With evaluations from a team of 200 independent course raters, the publisher’s editorial committee rated top courses as outstanding, excellent and others that were only “extremely good,”  on a five point scale from 75 to 100.  Design variety, conditioning and shot values were obvious measures, but so was history and tradition.  That’s why the handful of 100 point courses include 15 very familiar names, such as Royal Melbourne, the Old Course at St. Andrews and Cypress Point.

Newer courses also did well, including several near Scottsdale, the destination for the next Golf Road Warriors ultimate buddy trip.  Among the Arizona tracks rated in the top 1000 were Mirabel, Troon, We-Ko-Pa Saguro, Estancia and  Boulders North, all courses that I’ve personally played.

The first edition of the World’s Top 1000 Golf Courses generated considerable comment, some of which factored into the second edition.  Indeed, there were 107 new entries in the new version, as renovations upgraded some first-timers and a few new courses opened in Oregon’s Bandon Dunes, in China and even Tasmania.

As before, the United States has the greatest number of courses, with 333.  And while the UK, Ireland and The Continent earned its fair share of rankings, so did a few courses on the fringes of Europe, including in Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus.

Serious golfers who love course architecture will quibble about omissions.  The iconic Desert Forest in the Arizona town of Carefree is clearly one of the top 150 in the US and thus should have been included, along with the Tom Fazio Martis Camp design in California’s High Sierra.  But again, to be useful to traveling golfers, the diversity and inclusion is the book’s greatest strength.

On sale at Amazon.com and in major golf stores, the book retails for 35 euros, 25 pounds sterling and $35 U.S.  The publisher can be reached at:

D’ALGUE SELECTION

16, chemin du golf

78860 Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche

France

Office: +33 (0)5 24 61 67 12

Cell: +33 (0)6 77 26 53 10

www.rolextop1000.com

info@dalgueselection.com

The Energy Athletic ionized fabric shirt.

While the boys at MythBusters might be able to prove that my drives weren’t getting a few extra yards thanks to my new, long-sleeved Energy Athletic golf shirt – - which feature the brand’s proprietary IonX Ionized Energy Fabric™ – - I did pop a few suspiciously long tee shots last week. Maybe it was the placebo effect of the yellow symbolic lightning bolts on the collar and the cuff, or perhaps a trailing wind.  Then again, it could have been the negative charged ions in the fabric.

Most of the players on the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, after all, wear necklaces and other gear that’s also ionized, as do plenty of golfers.

“By using science validated by Tour stars and other elite athletes and applying that to a revolutionary fabric, we’re helping players truly maximize their power on the golf course,” says Mike Abram, President of Performance Sports Brands, parent company of Energy Athletic Golf.

The company contends that its apparel’s ability to increase power was confirmed by an independent university in a double-blind study of 12 rugby players, who wore shirts with negative ions embedded into the fabric. The results showed a measurable increase in average power during repetitive, short duration, high intensity exercise, similar in some ways to playing golf.

A Bit About Those Ions 

We are, in fact, surrounded by both positive and negative charged irons, the respective density of which is influenced by environmental factors.  It’s well known that an excess of positive ions can cause headaches, trigger allergies and other ill effects.  Positive ions can build up indoors where it is dusty and televisions and computers are operating; where heating ducts strip the air of electrons, churning an increase of positive ions; and, anywhere dry and warm wind blows.

Called “the vitamins in the air,” negative ions spike after a drenching rain, and near the ocean, rivers and especially at the bottom of waterfalls, which is why visits to these spots feel refreshing.  Negative ions have been shown to lift mood, lighten depression and help with seasonal affective disorder.  But it’s the environment that primarily drives the levels.

For example, on a big city freeway during rush hour the number of negative ions in a cubic centimeter of air is about 100.  Fresh country air has from 2,000 to 4,000 negative ions.  At the base of Yosemite Falls, there are more than 100,000 per cubic centimeter.

Still A Fine And Comfortable Shirt

My golf buddies and I had a good laugh at the bolts, for it harkens back to that great Volkswagon Jetta commercial, where a young kid asks an older teenager selling a small motorbike, “Is it fast?  Says the seller:  “It’s got a lightning bolt on it, doesn’t it?”

But with Energy Athletic, there’s no way you’re getting taken by an over-promising shirt.  Made of 95 percent polyester and 5 percent Spandex, the lightweight, breathable and moisture-wicking shirt has a great feel, soft and comfortable. It’s a casual polo that I’d wear most anyplace during the winter.  As a bonus, it doesn’t have a tail so it can look good whether it’s tucked into one’s pants or not.  However, it you don’t like the shirt, send it back within 30 days and you’ll get a full refund.

Energy Athletic’s short-sleeved shirts retail for $59.90 and the long sleeved polo’s go for $69.90.  For more information visit www.wearenergy.com.