12. 10.2012
� debut ping’s new scottsdale tr putter features the
first grooved insert for the clubmaker. the horizontal
grooves have variable depths across insert—they are
deeper in the center and shallower toward the heel and
toe. this pattern is designed to counteract the loss of ball
speed on off-center hits (the shallower groove depth in
the heel and toe reduces velocity less than the deeper
grooves in the center of the face). there are 12 versions of
the scottsdale tr (true roll); each is available in standard
fixed lengths as well as an optional adjustable-length version (similar to the one available in the company’s nome
putter) that lets you adjust lengths through a locking ring
below the grip.
� long drive don’t try telling
michael furrh, an assistant pro at
rolling Hills cc in arlington, texas,
that the legal limit on driver length
is 48 inches. furrh earned a spot in
the guinness Book of world records
for the world’s longest usable golf
club when he hit a tee shot 146 yards
(as registered by a trackman device
at Hank Haney golf at the lakes at
castle Hills) with a driver measuring
14 feet, 2½ inches. to build the club,
which was 9. 5 inches longer than
the previous record, furrh adhered
to the standard procedure any club
builder would do for lengthening a
shaft. “the most you can lengthen
a club is about 10 to 12 inches per
increment,” said furrh. “so there
were about a dozen pieces involved.”
the club featured a top-flite driver
head and weighed approximately 25
pounds. “it was like swinging a bowl-
ing ball on a rope,” said furrh. suc-
cess, however, was never in doubt.
furrh said he had unofficially broken
the record about 17 times at rolling
Hills while practicing.
� shortening up? aware of the
usga and r&a’s proposal to ban
anchoring by 2016, some tour players who currently use long or belly
putters have begun practicing with
shorter putters. the latest to start the
adjustment was adam scott at the
australian open, where he practiced
with an adjustable-length center-shafted scotty cameron golo prior
to the event. during the tournament
scott used his broomstick, a long
cameron by titleist Kombi mallet.
� history for sale
dallas-based Heritage auctions has put up
for bid more than 50 items donated
by the family of president gerald
ford. among the items (proceeds
to support an expansion of the
gerald r. ford presidential museum in michigan) are a set of golf
clubs and bag used by ford, who
died in 2006. the auction is taking
place online (current high bid for
the clubs/bag at press time was
$4,250) and will culminate with a
live auction tomorrow (dec. 11).
equipment// e. michael johnson
new long-club record, scott experiments, ford’s sticks
Thailand Golf Championship// winner’s baG
� in the bag
(Charl Schwartzel’s lineup)
ball: Nike One Tour D
driver: Nike VR Pro Limited Edi-
tion, 8.5-degrees
3-wood: Nike VR Pro Limited Edi-
tion, 15 degrees
5-wood: Nike VR Pro Limited Edi-
tion, 19 degrees
irons ( 3-9): Nike VR Pro Blades;
(Pw): Nike VR Pro
wedges: Nike VR Pro (54, 60
degrees)
Putter: Nike Method 001
courtesy of ping; KHalid redza/asian tour/asian tour via getty images
cover // contents // 10 tHings // pga tour australasia // asian tour // let // eqUiPment // tim rosaforte
