Category Archives: golf Club Components

Survey: Pros have love-hate thoughts on Torrey Pines

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Tour course rankings

Golf World’s top 10 and bottom 10 courses as ranked by PGA Tour pros who were asked to rate them from 1 to 10.

TOP 10

1 Augusta National, Augusta, Ga., 8.96

2 Harbour Town, Hilton Head, S.C., 8.77

3 Riviera, Pacific Palisades, 8.76

4 Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach, 8.56

5 Colonial, Forth Worth, Texas, 8.40

6 Muirfield Village, Dublin, Ohio, 8.34

7 Shaughnessy, Vancouver, B.C., 8.29

8 Aronimink, Newton Square, Pa., 8.25

9 Innisbrook Resort, Palm Harbor, Fla., 8.09

10 Congressional, Bethesda, Md., 8.06

BOTTOM 10

43 Plantation Course, Kapalua, Hawaii, 6.07

44 PGA West Nicklaus Private, La Quinta, 5.94

45 TPC Louisiana, Avondale, La., 5.87

46 Cog Hill, Lamont, Ill., 5.87

47 Walt Disney Palm, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., 5.79

48 Torrey Pines North, San Diego, 5.60

49 TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas, Irving , Texas, 5.37

50 TPC San Antonio, San Antonio, 4.89

51 Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain, Marana, Ariz., 4.60

52 Liberty National, Jersey City, N.J., 4.58

The South Course at Torrey Pines may demand respect from the pros on the PGA Tour because of its difficulty, but that doesn’t mean they have to like it.

A new Golf World survey revealed that many do not.

Golf World polled 81 players, gave them anonymity, and asked them to rate each of the 52 PGA Tour courses from 1 to 10.

Torrey South, which has hosted 44 tour events and one U.S. Open, finished in the lower half, placing 31st with an average rating of 6.74.

The North Course fared worse, ranking 48th with a score of 5.60.

Golf World writers Geoff Shackelford and Craig Dolch asked players to comment on each course. Among the negative reviews of the South Course, which was redesigned by architect Rees Jones in 2001: “Could be so much better … probably better at one time … Jones ought to give his paycheck back … needs more variety, too many long irons into greens … too many average holes … the potential to be one of the best on tour, but not the way it is now.”

The positive comments: “Asks for all the shots … a couple of cool little holes; some interesting short par-5s … I actually like it better in many ways … can’t believe they haven’t gone back for another U.S. Open.”

The critical words for the William F. Bell design of the North, which the golfers play only once during the Farmers Insurance Open: “Tired-looking with potential … Some really nice holes like 2 and 3, then there are some dogs like 6 and 7 … has gotten to be a tough course. I put it on the same level as its big brother … they don’t need to add back tees.”

One player said the North is “shorter and more fun”; another added, “Don’t redo the North the same way you did the South”; and a third said there shouldn’t be an “unnecessary effort” to keep up with the modern game.

There may have been some of the latter in last year’s Farmers, when the North’s fairways were made “goofy narrow,” according to one player, and the rough was extremely thick due to pre-tournament rains. That may have had a significant influence on the players’ ratings, though they were encouraged to rate architecture, not conditions.

Council ponders Cabinet View – The Western News: Libby News

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Extending an olive branch in an attempt to avoid potentialcostly litigation, Libby City Council members have taken a steptoward beginning anew in its dispute with Cabinet View GolfClub.

At issue is $1.5 million the city loaned to Cabinet View Golf Clubfor the purpose of developing its Wilderness Nine, bringing thecourse to its current state of 18 holes.

The city also would like to recoup some of the $1.6 million itexpended to bring sewer service to the Cabinet Heights neighborhoodwhile extending a trunk line to the golf course. However, thereseems to be a difference in opinion of whether the Cabinet ViewBoard of Trustees agreed to pay as much as $750,000 for theextension.

Without documentation to support its stance, the city is seeking tostart over, which even calls into question acknowledgement thesubdivision was adopted by the city.

City attorney Jim Reintsma has been asked by Mayor Doug Roll andthe City Council to offer an opinion on whether the city can moveforward on the premise that the subdivision has not been recognizedby the city.

Citing a Montana Supreme Court decision as precedent on a similarcase in Red Lodge, Reintsma is expected to offer a written opinionof the case by week’s end.

“Until we get an opinion on this, we really can’t move forward,”Roll said.

During the meeting, the mayor again expressed his desire to pressforward in dialogue with Cabinet View Golf Club officials.

“We don’t want the property, Roll said referring to the estimated115 home site lots. “From this point on, lets move forward. … IfI have said anything that offended, I am sorry,” Roll said to ninepeople in the audience, four of whom included a contingent fromCVGC.

Dann Rohrer, CVGC Board of Trustees, was among those attending thehearing Tuesday, and he said he was left confused on the city’sstance on the subdivision.

“I don’t know whether this is a ploy to go back to the drawingboard to try to get us to pay for the sewer line,” Rohrersaid.

“At the time they were deciding on whether to extend the service,we had three options, this being one of them. The only reason weagreed to this is because we were told the Golf Club would not nothave to pay for the extension. If we were told we would have, wewould never have agreed to this,” Rohrer said.

Those other two options included septic systems or even a smallsewer system for the CVGC clubhouse and home sites.

Payment for the trunk line is just part of the issue that dividescity officials and the Golf Club. The other issue is the repaymentof the loan, which is not contended by Rohrer and the CVGCBoard.

“We don’t have any money. Clearly, we agreed to pay the loan backas the sale of the lots is made,” Rohrer said pulling a loanagreement from his brief case dated Jan. 1, 2004, that states theboard will make a payment with the sale of each lot until the $1.5million is repaid.

A sticking point is the Jan. 1, 2010, deadline on that agreementfor the club to begin making payments on the loan. However, whenthe document was drafted in late 2003, the economy was much betterthan it is today, and it seemed there would be no difficultymeeting that deadline, which loomed seven years later.

“We just don’t have the money,” Rohrer said, admitting the CVGCBoard has sent two checks of $100 as good-faith gestures.

Asked to open the CVGC financial records, Rohrer offered the annualOperating Expenses for the Golf Club to be $300,000 and its revenueto be just more than that.

“We finished the year with $2,000 (in the black),” Rohrer said.“Our wages and other expenses are right at $200,000, and we spentanother $100,000 on Operational Supplies. Yes, we are cutting itthat close.”

CVGC sought the $1.5 million loan on the premise the enhancement ofthe course would make the estimated 115 home property sites nearthe course more marketable for developers and in that process, CVGCwould then use the sales of those lots to repay the note.

However, declining home values and a downward economic trend haveleft the lots unsold and vacant.

In other action, the City Council …:

• Approved the Federal Fair Housing Law known as Resolution No.1796, which makes it illegal to deny housing to an person becauseof race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

• Heard the Lights/Street/Sidewalks Committee has received bids fora backhoe for city purchase. City Councilwoman Barb Desch said thecommittee likely would forward both bids to the Council at its Feb.6 meeting for consideration.

• Continues to work with Denise Hanson of the engineering firmMorrison Maierle, Inc., to find the right combination of polymersfor the wastewater treatment plant’s new screw press. The city hasset Friday as a date for the firm to meet a performancedeadline.

• Heard an emotional opening prayer from Lloyd Miller of the AmishChurch. Miller began the meeting with prayer, specifically askingfor Divine assistance to aid the families of those hurting as aresult of the recent string of violence against and to familymembers.

PR-CANADA.net – Golfersadvice.com Opens a Page that Explains the Most Common Golf Grip

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Golfersadvice.com has just set up a page on their site that illustrates the most common golf grip in great detail. People who want to check out the grip for themselves can now log onto the site and get all the information they need on this grip.

Conrad Stoker, one of the directors off the site said that

Is Grey the New Blonde?

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Women are dyeing to succeed – and that’s cause for concern.

In the Australian Financial Review, Fiona Smith talks about the vast majority of corporate women seeking to ward off the inevitability of grey hair because of the perceived stigma associated with aging.

As men mature and start to silver, they wear their hair as a sign of their worldliness and experience. Women dye it.

Silver Fox Wisdom

At my Golf Club’s annual President’s day luncheon I noticed that the ladies in their 80s and 90s all wear their grey hair with pride. I’m guessing they are well past the working age.

I commented to the woman sitting beside me that there must be a time when females do not feel the need to dye their hair any more, a time when they think ‘take me as I am.’ Or on the flip side, they want to send a strong statement about letting a really big part of themselves go.

Maybe they never worked. Or maybe they didn’t feel truly free until they left the working world.

Where are the Corporate Silver Foxes?

Women in business seem to believe that they must maintain a youthful appearance in order to – well, in order to what?

A study of over 12,000 participants suggests that trustworthiness increases with age. Why would we not want to be seen as older at a time when trust itself is an increasingly precious trait?

Christine Lagarde, the recently appointed managing director of the International Monetary Fund, wears her grey with style and pride, emanating strength and credibility – while remaining unmistakably female. Yet apart from her it is hard to think of other prominent women doing the same. Recent photos of Barak Obama show a fair smattering of grey hair, while his former political opponent Hilary Clinton sports a blonde hair style.

In 2010, out of 15 female chief executives of Fortune 500 companies, not one allowed her hair to grey, according to a Meredith Vieira report on the Today show. And of the 93 women then in congress, only five showed any grey.

At the other end of the age spectrum, some trend-setters – model Kate Moss, singer Lady Gaga – have dyed their hair grey as a statement of rebellion, although I’m not sure if this makes them appear more trustworthy.

The Truth: Shades of Grey

The truth is, women get more trustworthy with age, just as men do. The systematic attempt to deny the symbol of that increased trustworthiness for one gender is just part of the cost we pay as a society for the female youth illusion.

And of course that cost begins with the 3 ½ hours at the hair dresser every six weeks for the rest of our lives having foils in our hair. Hmmm…

NewsChannel5.com

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by Heather Graf

NASHVILLE, Tenn – A 144-acre golf course in Nashboro Village could very soon belong to Metro government, and not everyone's happy about it.  That's because the city plans to turn all 18 holes into a park.

Those who live in the area feel that purchase and transformation will destroy their property values and ruin their neighborhood.

“I bought this house 11 years ago because of the golf course over there, and I really, I don't want a park,” said Gary Petersen.

He's one of several hundred residents who showed up for a community meeting on Thursday night to voice their concerns about the proposal.

“The golf course is a huge asset to the community,” one resident told the panel of Metro officials.

Another asked what tax revenue would be generated if the city turns the golf course into a public space, to which Councilwoman Karen Johnson replied, “none”.

Metro said the property fits perfectly into the Open Space Plan the city adopted two years ago.

“This part of the county, the southeast section of the county, was one of the ones identified by the open space plan as being the most deficient in park property,” said Metro Parks Director Tommy Lynch.

The $595,000 purchase price for the Nashboro Golf Club would come out of a $5 million previously set aside for open spaces, that includes private donations from The Land Trust of Tennessee.

Residents, meanwhile, said they've found a private buyer who is willing to purchase the course, that closed in November, and work to restore and re-open it.

'I've made an offer, with no contingencies, for a cash offer to close within 30 days, for the same price Metro is offering,” said David Waynick, who is a businessman and former mayor of Mount Juliet.  “Because I believe it is a gem in the community, and I also believe it enhances property values, so I offered to step up.”

Councilwoman Johnson said she organized Thursday's meeting so that her constituents would have a chance to ask questions directly to Metro officials.

“Nothing that is done with metro government is just done automatically,” she said.  “My job is to listen to everyone on both sides of this particular issue, and from the input that's given, determine next steps from there.”

In just five days, on January 10, the issue is set to go before Metro's Parks and Recreation Board for a vote.

It's the first of several approvals needed before Metro Council will weigh in on the proposed purchase of Nashboro Golf Club. 

Councilwoman Johnson told NewsChannel 5 she's not yet decided how she will vote.

Nashboro Village residents, meanwhile, said they will continue fighting to save the golf course, every step of the way.

“This is a nice, quiet neighborhood,” said Peterson.  “I don't want it to deteriorate, and it will,”

Email: : Facebook.com/NC5HeatherGrafTwitter: Twitter.com/NC5_HeatherGraf

Vacanze invernali da spiaggia

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Mercoledì 4 Gennaio 2012

Anche se il freddo stenta a farsi sentire sul serio, siamo sempre in inverno ed una fuga verso spiagge paradisiache resta comunque una voglia che in molti vorrebbero soddisfare.

Ecco 5 incredibili luoghi dove potersi rifugiare per qualche tempo a godere dei piaceri tropicali.

Diani Beach, Mombasa (Kenya)

Questa splendida spiaggia sulla costa orientale del Kenya non vi deluderà. Qui è facile ed economico noleggiare l’attrezzatura per lo snorkeling e poi basta lasciarsi galleggiare a largo attraverso la laguna, verso la barriera corallina, a circa 750 metri di distanza. Alle spalle della laguna ci sono punti interessanti per fare windsurf o kitesurf. C’è un campo da golf da 18 buche facilmente raggiungibile, ma volendo si può anche noleggiare una bicicletta. In caso contrario, prendetevi una barca a vela e lanciatevi sull’acqua, dove potrete anche provare le tipiche canoe. Nulla vieta di piantarsi in spiaggia ed assaporare mango e cocco, senza dover per forza fare qualcosa. Nelle parti più isolate della spiaggia potreste anche avere la fortuna di imbattervi in qualche esemplare di piccolo galagos o di scimmia colobus. Voli per Mombasa.

Playas De Papagayo, Lanzarote (Spagna)

Questa spiaggia fantastica non è una meta ambita solo per i turisti, ma anche per gli stessi abitanti di Lanzarote, che grazie alla sua sabbia bianca, le acque turchesi e le piscine rocciose, la considerano tra le migliori dell’isola. Situata sulla punta sud-orientale dell’isola all’interno di un parco naturale protetto, Playas de Papagayo ha molto da offrire, incluso un comodo bar-caffetteria dove è possibile assaggiare la cucina locale, mentre si osserva il sole che tramonta dietro le maestose montagne di Los Ajaches. Voli per Lanzarote.

Grace Bay, Isole Turks and Caicos (Providenciales)

Questa prestigiosa spiaggia, dalla sabbia color perla, è lunga quasi 20 kilometri, bagnata da un mare d’acqua turchese e decorata dalle onnipresenti palme da cocco dei Caraibi, sempre utili per concedere un po’ di ombra. E’ stata inoltre riconosciuta come “Migliore Spiaggia del Mondo” agli World Travel Awards ed è circondata da una barriera corallina che la rende incredibile per lo snorkeling e le immersioni. Il Grace Bay Club copre circa un decimo di questa spiaggia, accessibile agli ospiti dei vicini hotel. Voli per Providenciales.

Turtle Beach, Isola Mogundula (Mozambico)

Una tenda di lusso ed una spiaggia tutta per voi, è quello che potreste trovare sulla piccola isola di Mogundula. Sicuramente una delle isole tropicali più incontaminate e dimenticate dell’arcipelago Quirimbas, che si trova a poco più di quattro miglia (7 km) dalla terraferma del nord del Mozambico. Qui c’è una barriera corallina integra con piccole onde sul lato che da verso il mare ed una spiaggia incontaminata, ideale per lo snorkeling e il nuoto libero. L’isola ha un lago di mangrovie, foreste di palme da cocco e con la bassa marea si può camminare in tutta l’isola ed esplorare grotte, piscine naturali ed affioramenti di corallo. L’isola ospita alcuni degli ecosistemi più incontaminati ed inesplorati nell’Oceano Indiano. Voli per Mozambico.

Isole Yasawa, Fiji

Yasawas è un arcipelago di 90 isole al largo dell’isola principale delle Fiji di Viti Levu, che vanta alcune delle spiagge più belle del mondo. Aspettatevi di trovare chilometri di candida sabbia, qualche noce di cocco ed i pittoreschi legni arenati e sbiancati dal sale e dal sole. La sabbia è talmente sottile che un tratto viene chiamato dai locali come”spiaggia degli otto mesi”, perché pare ci voglia molto tempo perché tutti i grani scompaiano dai capelli. I visitatori soggiornano presso il  Yasawa Island Resort, un rifugio esclusivo su una delle isole più remote e incontaminate delle Fiji. La sistemazione consiste in 18 bungalow di lusso disposti tra le palme, a pochi passi da una di quelle meravigliose spiagge. Le opzioni includono pic-nic, snorkeling tra pesci tropicali e coralli ed i servizi del centro benessere sulla spiaggia. Voli per le Fiji.

Custom Golf Club Fitting – What Should You Expect?

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Before you scour the golf shops to purchase your next set of irons, it’s imperative to get a custom golf club fitting. There are lots of golf professionals that have adequate experience and expertise to give you a proper fitting. It is important that you have a background of how it’s done so you will know the factors and topics that will be covered, and you will know what to expect in the fitting session.

When you go to your fitter during your custom golf club fitting session, you will first discuss your skill level as a player. It’s important for you to be upfront and honest Never feel overwhelmed or intimidated because the club fitter’s job is to help you have the most compatible clubs to help improve your game. And besides, your skill level will be revealed during the actual session, so to save time you might as well condition yourself to be comfortable enough to disclose your strengths and weaknesses as a player. You also need to discuss your golf game goals to your fitter. This will help identify the best iron head for you. You will know which iron head will perform well for you by how it feels and looks like. If you feel that you don’t like the look and feel of a specific iron, then most probably it’s not for you.

As soon as you have decided on the clubhead that will help you perform at your best, the fitter will help you find the proper shaft flex. Rely on the golf fitter’s experience and expertise on this area. Generally, golf shafts are available in an assortment of flexes such as regular, senior, ladies, extra stiff, and stiff. Many factors will be considered, like your swing speed and how well you deliver the club to the ball, so don’t expect too much that you will end up with the shaft that you originally liked or are currently using. It will be helpful if you will base your decision now on what the shaft says by how the ball performs.

During the session, the fitter will also take measurements to help you find the correct grip and lie angle. You will be given lots of options for this so you’ll be sure to find one that will suit you best.

These information will help you get the most out of your custom golf club fitting. Good luck

Do I Need Custom Golf Club Fitting?

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Do I need custom club fitting?

Q: I am only an average golfer – why should I need custom-fitted clubs?

A: You need custom-fitted clubs because:

1. Custom-fitted clubs are tuned to your playing ability and swing so that your energy or lack there-of is efficiently utilized by the golf club to improve your game.

2. Once clubs are fitted properly, a golfer can concentrate their effort on improving the golf swing, therefore, for total game improvement.

Many golfers, especially those who are less experienced, greatly misunderstand the entire concept of custom golf clubs. They may think that custom clubs are reserved for either the expert golfer, or the golfer with a high budget for golf equipment. They couldn’t be further from the truth in either case. Custom club fitting is an excellent method to properly fit any golfer to any type of golf equipment. Regardless of your age, height, strength, body type or gender, getting the proper shaft type, shaft flex, proper lie angle, and clubhead style are all significant features that will help to maximize your playing ability. Knowing that your clubs fit you perfectly, allows you to play your best and improve the quality of your game, and the bottom line – have more fun.

Custom Golf Clubs are:

- Game improving, more forgiving

- For all levels of golfers

- For all body shapes and sizes, not just short or tall golfers

- Endless options, rather than one-size-fits-all and all the same appearance from the store shelf

- Considered and evaluated with up t o 15 variables

Game improving, more forgiving

If you were to pick up a new golf club from your favorite sporting goods store or Pro-Shop, you will assuredly acquire your self a really nice new quality golf club – BUT, the identical club that your six-foot-tall neighbor bought, the five-foot-tall work friend bought, your weight lifting buddy bought, and the skinny junior varsity high school golf team kid bought, and the one your grandpa bought. It’s the obvious truth that not all those people fit the same mold While the high school kid and grandpa are spending a lot of money, the smart golfer will save 50% over the one-size-fits-all brand name club while having his clubs fitted to him or her and at the same time actually improve their game. The more that your new clubs are designed around your desires and needs, the better they will perform for you. To be even more precise, the tall guy and the short guy may require the same size clubs. Why? because the length of the arms is whay really matters. To get a great fitting golf club, a measurment from your grip to the ground is necessary.

For all levels of golfers

Tiger Woods and other PGA professionals obviously have their golf clubs custom built to suit every aspect of their game – they need every bit of advantage that they can get since there are millions of Dollars and their future existence is on the line. Obviously you do not have those issues, but you do want to have more fun on the golf course. Golf is difficult and can be aggravating all by itself. Why let ill-fitted equipment drag down your game? Too many times we have seen players struggling to improve because of clubs that are too heavy or too light, too long or short, too stiff or flexible, too flat or upright. Get the equipment right, then work on the skills.

For all body shapes and sizes, not just short or tall golfers

We are all different and a significant investment in golf equipment should provide maximum benefit to each individual golfer. Some golfers are short and some are tall, but that surprisingly makes little difference in selection of a customized club option. Some of us were made with longer/shorter arms, longer/shorter legs, longer/shorter bodies, more/less physical strength etc. A tall golfer might have short arms and a short golfer may have long arms. This is precisely why we measure a golfer’s grip distance to the ground, swing speeds, age, frequency of play etc. Once you have been fully evaluated, you can be properly fitted for clubs that are right for just you.

Endless options for appearance and fit (rather than store shelf, one size and color fits all )

You can have your choice of flex (even half way between flexes, like semi-stiff) to improve distance and control, choice of length (which will provide much better ball control), consider shaft flex points, balance, swing weight, shaft spine alignment, shaft brand, shaft color, grip brand, grip type, grip color, grip size, head loft, head shape, etc.etc. At The Ace of Clubs, we would be happy to spend the time with you to help you figure out what you want and what you need. The buyer of custom golf clubs does need to be somewhat aware and pay attention about who they are buying from and what they are getting. Some internet golf stores use poor quality head or shaft components, or use improper assembly techniques to cut corners and save costs or reduce their prices. Just a little bit of homework is a good idea so that you know exactly what you are getting and who you are getting it from, to be sure that you are getting quality components and to know that you chosen club builder taking the time to properly prepare them in the assembly process. One way of knowing that you will achieve this is by sticking with companies who offer a no risk guarantee on their products (yes, those do exist). Rest assured, of your club builder makes this kind of offer to their customer, then you can be fairly comfortable that quility and customer satisfaction is something that they focus on – they obviously want you to keep coming back.

Fitting Evaluation Considerations and variables used may include;

• Set composition
• Club length
• Loft/lie angle
• Club head design
• Shaft frequency-flex
• Shaft material
• Flex-point
• Torque
• Shaft bend/balance point
• Overall club balance point
• Total club gram weight
• Grip weight/size/material
• Your handicap
• Your frequency of play
• Your physical make-up

When you place an online order for you golf clubs, check to see whether your chosen club builder offers to evaluate your needs with these important features in mind. Since most of the time, the clubs will need to be assembled prior to shipping, it would be beneficial for you to have them built to best suit you. Some stores offer an automated response to a questionaire, some offer human intervention to a club fitting (which I prefer), and others may require you to call and have a conversation. A good example of a thorough evaluation is found with this Custom Golf Clubs fitting form. With the information that you would provide in such a form would make it possible for the caring club builder to help you to maximmize the benefit of your golf club investment.

Sierra Club sponsoring Kentucky basketball game

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Taking a page from the coal industry’s playbook, the Sierra Club will sponsor a University of Kentucky men’s basketball game next week.

The environmental group, which wants the nation to move away from using coal in favor of renewable forms of energy such as solar, will sponsor UK’s Jan. 17 match-up against Arkansas.

The sponsorship will cost the Sierra Club $17,500, said Kim Teplitzky, a Sierra Club staffer in Pittsburgh who helped arrange the deal.

Linking iconic UK basketball with a clean-energy message is turnabout after the coal industry sponsored three UK athletic events this school year to get out its message.

Friends of Coal was the signature sponsor of the UK-University of Louisville football and men’s basketball games, and also helped sponsor Big Blue Madness, said Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association.

The total cost was $85,000.

The Sierra Club, which says it is the largest grass-roots environmental group in the nation, also will sponsor an Indiana University men’s basketball game Thursday.

For its money, the Sierra Club will be featured on the cover of the UK-Arkansas game program and will get an advertisement during the radio broadcast. The package also includes mentions on the radio and at the game and the right to give students materials and put on the halftime show, Teplitzky said.

The message at the game will be positive, not anti-coal, Sierra Club staffers said, such as “let’s score one for clean air,” and that just as its basketball team is a leader, UK can be a leader in clean energy.

“This is just a fun, creative way to say we support a healthy future,” said Lauren McGrath, a Sierra Club representative in Kentucky.

The Sierra Club and other groups argue that coal is a dirty form of energy that causes serious environmental and health problems when it is mined and burned.

The industry, however, says it provides thousands of jobs and helps keep Kentucky’s electricity prices low.

“Sponsoring a University of Kentucky athletic event is a great way to reach Kentuckians, but it will take much more than one game to convince the vast majority of us that there is a better source for electricity than coal,” Bissett said after hearing of the Sierra Club sponsorship.

The UK and IU games are the first time the Sierra Club has sponsored college sporting events to get out its message, Teplitzky said.

The idea grew out of a discussion involving Teplitzky and Patrick Johnson, a UK senior active in an environmental advocacy group called UK Greenthumb, at a conference in Pittsburgh last year, Johnson said.

Johnson said he was frustrated about the coal industry’s sponsorship of the UK-U of L football game.

Johnson said he grew up a diehard UK basketball fan and did not think it was proper to have UK sports “infiltrated” by a pro-coal message, which he likened to letting the tobacco industry sponsor a game.

The coal industry makes it seem as though there is no downside to coal and no alternative, he said.

Johnson said he respects that coal has been important economically to many people, but thinks it’s important to show a counterpoint to the industry’s view.

“I want the citizens of the state of Kentucky to be educated on what options there are,” said Johnson, who is majoring in natural resources and environmental science.

The controversy over coal has ratcheted up in Kentucky and the nation in recent years, and has burned hotter at UK as well.

After UK trustees voted in 2009 to accept $8 million from donors — many tied to the coal industry — for a new basketball dorm with the stipulation that it be called the Wildcat Coal Lodge and include a shrine to coal, professors and students protested the decision and acclaimed Kentucky author Wendell Berry removed his personal papers from the UK library.

UK students also have called on the school to replace two coal-fired boilers it uses for heating.

That is one immediate target of the move to sponsor the UK and IU games, the Sierra Club said in a news release.

The games, which it calls the Sierra Club Clean Energy Match-Ups, “are meant to connect sports to the idea that dirty and dangerous on-campus coal plants need to be replaced by clean and affordable solutions for the health of the players and the students,” the group said.

More than 60 universities burn coal on campus, but 19 others have committed to stop doing so since the Sierra Club launched a campaign against the practice, the group said in its news release.

Johnson said he hopes the Sierra Club involvement with the UK-Arkansas game will bring more students into the push against UK’s coal plants.

UK spokesman Jay Blanton said UK has already put in place or plans a number of initiatives to cut greenhouse-gas emissions.

For instance, a new child-care center under construction on campus and a planned residence hall will use geothermal for heating and cooling, and UK hopes to make wide use of the same source during renovation and construction of 6,000 to 9,000 new dorm beds in coming years, Blanton said.

The university also has an energy-management center that works to cut electricity use, and is investing more than $20 million in campus improvements that will cut energy use. Several UK officials and students recently went to Ball State University to look at its use of geothermal energy, he said.

How Do Putter Head Inserts Benefit Your Putting?

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One of the latest technological advancements in putter head design is the addition of inserts. This insert design putter head is where the centre of the face on a golf putter is cut out and replaced with a lightweight or composite material, these materials can include metal, rubber, ceramic, plastic, glass, wood and a variety of other natural or manmade materials.

One of the benefits of these lightweight materials is to distribute the weight of the putter head towards the toe and heel end. This peripheral weighting design helps to make these putters more forgiving, by creating a larger sweet spot or area for pure striking of the ball.

Another benefit of using these softer insert materials is that they will provide more feedback when you strike the golf ball and give you greater feel for your putts. It may well make a difference if you play with the harder 2 piece balls, as it helps you to get a softer strike and a bit more control over your distances.

Although the insert putter head design sounds great, I don’t believe it counts as that much of an important factor when it comes to choosing the right golf putter for you. There are plenty of other more important elements to take into consideration when buying a putter.

In my opinion it is more important to find a golf putter that you love the look of and feels great when you strike the golf ball, as this will put you in a positive state of mind, which is essential to improving your golf putting performance.

It is also important to make sure that the putter fits, so when you address the ball with you normal putting setup, check that the length is right, the sole is flat on the ground and the loft is correct for your hand position.