Leading Edge

ORLANDO, Fla. – Pure Grips has created a buzz at the PGA Merchandise Show. Literally.

Every time they fire up their signature air gun to do a grip-changing demonstration, the sound makes people stop in the aisles and watch.

Pure Grips offers five different models of grips and all use a water resistant blend of rubber that dries quickly yet remains tacky in wet conditions. The catch is that the materials that make the grips allow them to be installed without tape on the end of the shaft.

That’s where the air gun comes in. The gun, which comes free with each purchase, is specially designed to grab the end of the grip. To install you put the first inch of the grip on the shaft, attach the gun to the end of the grip, fill the grip with air and slide it on to the shaft. That same grip can be easily removed within seconds by using the same tactic with the gun.

An entire set of clubs can be re-gripped within 15 minutes.

ORLANDO, Fla. – If you are a golf techie you may want to give this a look. SkyGolf released the new SkyCaddie SGX at the PGA Merchandise Show and it takes a great leap forward in moving from golf GPS to actual caddie.

The new rangefinder allows for a new technology called SmartClub that you install on the top of your grip that will allow the machine to identify individual clubs without the need for you to enter them. After a few trips out to the course it will learn your game and make suggestions as to the proper club that should be used. So when you want to pull out what you think should be a 7-iron, which may be the right club for Phil Mickelson but not for you, it will instead tell you the club that will actually get you the distance needed.

Another addition to this new SkyCaddie is the addition of social networking for the golfer. You will be able to share your game data, including scores, shot distance, and even what’s in your bag with your instructor, friends, and anyone else you wish to share with.

And what if you don’t have an instructor? Well, they have that covered as well because the ClubSG that stores your data online can suggest one that will meet your needs.

One last perk: you don't have to tip the SkyCaddie $50 after your round.

ORLANDO, Fla. – One thing you can always look forward to at the PGA Merchandise Show from year to year are some good laughs. People from all over the world travel here to display their inventions to the rest of the world and some of them are doosies. Not that the products aren’t noteworthy, they just catch your eye for humor as opposed to usefulness.

One of my favorites from the show this year is the Hockey Stick putter. They have been around for a few years apparently but this was the first time I have noticed them.

Happy Gilmore eat your heart out.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Golf is about to get a voice to lobby its causes in the nation’s capital.

That’s what “We Are Golf” is all about.

The PGA of America announced the initiative today at the opening of the PGA Merchandise Show.

A year after the game endured listening to Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank imply that running a golf tournament was a waste of corporate money, golf is formally answering back.

“[We Are Golf] is designed to change the perception of golf among members of Congress, their staff and agency personnel,” PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka said during a media roundtable. “We still have an elitist image. We are still viewed as a game that is played at private golf clubs. We are still viewed as being an expensive sport to play. Well, nine out of 10 people who play the game do not belong to a private club. The vast majority of golf is available at very affordable prices. The median greens fee for 18 holes is $44, and we took the highest price that's available.”

The Podesta Group has been hired to represent the interests of We Are Golf, a coalition made up of the PGA, Club Managers Association of America, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and the National Golf Course Owners Association.

Steranka said the impetus to form We Are Golf trace back to legislation a few years ago that excluded golf from eligibility for disaster relief.

“We no longer can be absent from that table,” Steranka. “The government, whether it's at the federal level or the state level, is developing and enacting legislation that impacts small business. President Obama talked about $30 billion going towards small business. Well, we think that golf is a candidate for some of that, again, because of the stability of the business operations, the diversity of the people it employs and the fact that most are played in public access facilities.”

ORLANDO, Fla. – RBC’s presence in golf is larger with today’s announcements at the PGA Merchandise Show.

Fred Couples, Luke Donald and Morgan Pressel have joined “Team RBC” and will carry RBC branded golf bags.

The agreements make RBC the official banking and financial services partner for each athlete, expanding the number of touring pros linked to the bank. Stephen Ames, Anthony Kim and Mike Weir were previously signed to agreements.

It also was announced that RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) has become a PGA of America official patron, the highest level of partnership and designation granted by the organization. That makes RBC the “official bank” of the PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship and Grand Slam of Golf and “proud supporter” of the Ryder Cup.