Katieshack

Delectable golf

It's Friday, which means The Masters' has been on for a couple days. For those couple of days my dad (a fellow golf aficionado) and I have been attempting to find some live Masters' footage in vain (unless watching hours of analysis of a certain channel's "Live from The Masters" counts...we're now resorting to pre-taped footage until tomorrow's network broadcast).

Anyway, to accompany your position on the couch for Masters' weekend, grab a box of Chocolat Celeste's limited edition golf chocolates for your enjoyment. It's Katie's Golf Product of the Week and it's the sporty equivalent to the "soap operas and bonbons" analogy. By far the most creative and high-quality golf treat on the market (as far as I can see), the Fairway Collection is handmade, preservative-free (to protect our petite waistlines) and filled with bittersweet ganache, appropriate for the inevitable bittersweetness The Masters' will hold (insert groan for a bad joke here). At $40 for a box of eight truffles and a golf-stenciled bonbon, they'll leave your tummy feeling happy and you'll be taking mulligans ball after candy ball.

It got me thinking about other cute golf candies out there. After scouring each of the 1.06 million pages for you, the reader, that resulted from searching for "golf candy" on the 'net, here's the top five finds that made my list (author's note: I skipped golf cookie bouquets, which were pretty snazzy and plentiful but did not meet my "golf candy" requirement):

5. Mini Chocolate Golf Balls In Bucket: Between 15-18 dime-sized, fudge-filled golf balls in a miniature range bucket. $3.40.

4. Golf Ball Candy Bouquet Planter: Twenty-three Jolly Ranchers, Tootsie Pops and other classic candy bars arranged in a ceramic golf ball planter. Tasty and reusable. $40.

3. Golf Retro Candy Basket: With golf packaging stuffed with Boston Baked Beans, waxed lips, Sugar Daddies, Bottlecaps, Mike & Ike, Red Hots, Pop Rocks and more, it's the perfect throwback way to spend an afternoon in front of the tube. $28.48.

2. Carol's Candy Corner Golf Candy Gift Basket: Stuffed with solid, caramel- and fudge- filled golf balls as well as a trio of Robusto Chocolate Cigars, this classy little set would make a great gift. $29.95.

1. The Chocolate Vault: The company offers many molded golf chocolates and gift sets, including ones in shapes of golfers and golf bags, not just the standard golf ball (one point for creativity). Around $10.

Bon appetit.

Fun fun fun 'til your caddie takes your Segway away

In Katie's Product of the Week feature (you can stop looking for the others, this is the first)...

Imagine this: you're cruising down the fairway of your favorite hole at your favorite course -- wind blowing through your hair (or lack thereof) and the warm Southern California sun shining on your face (remember sunscreen). With your bag stored securely next to you and your scorecard displaying that bogey golf round in front of you (you remind yourself that although your short game does need a little work, golf is more about the camaraderie and experience than the score...right?), you're thinking to yourself, "Yep, life can't get much better than this." And as your buddy pulls up next to you, you pound fists to celebrate another perfect day on the links as you scurry off side by side into the sunset.

This can be reality, folks.

One of my cub reporters tipped me off to what I would consider to be a work of genius for golfers and non-golfers alike: have fun buzzing around town on those cool Segways? Now you can get a golf-specific one for the course.

Named the 2007 New Product of the Year by the Association of Private Clubs and Directors, the Segway x2 Golf (the sister model in a family of four other two-wheelers) provides a fun and effective way to tool around the course for up to 36 holes (or 14 miles) without having to walk or sit in a cart. In addition to all the safety must-haves, like large turf-friendly tires, Segway SmartMotion and LeanSteer (which provides balance and uneven terrain compensation), the Segway also comes with a snazzy golf bag holder, as well as a scorecard display for hands-free storage. If you can shift your weight forward, you've put it in drive, and leaning back sets it into reverse. Optimized maneuverability...it really is that easy.

The practical side of me says that this is a good substitute for the sometimes...ahem...unstylish golf cart. Not all of us are lucky enough have a souped-up club car with a radio or cooler or red velvet-upolstered seats. Forget the superficiality factor for a moment, though: this is also great for those who are physically unable to sit for or walk 18 holes, or maybe don't care for the inhibiting factors a classic cart presents. This gadget could make golf more accessible, which has many positive implications for the future of the game.

But now that all that's out of the way, onto the goods. This puppy gets to speeds of up to 12 miles per hour, has zero turning radius and, according to Segway, is a great way to keep up with your foursome, instead of splitting up into two carts. I don't think I need to explain further what all of this implies, although I will say that I do not and will not suggest, promote or condone Segway racing or tricks on the golf course. I am simply realistic and know that it will inevitably happen.

Add this to your Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day or Grandparents' Day lists, or skip your first car for your 16th birthday or grad gift and pick up one of these instead. At $6,175, it's practically a steal AND you'll be the envy of all those golfers around you. www.segway.com

Read any good books lately...?

As a member of the golf communications community, I am privy to the new, the exciting, and the up-and-coming of many facets of the game, but only have so much room to share in FORE Magazine. Much of this includes apparel, equipment and courses, but it also includes a favorite pastime of mine: books!

Being the literary…ahem…nerd that I am, the delivery of a new golf book to FORE headquarters always piques my interests a little. We have shelves and shelves of books here that publishers send to us, from beautiful coffee table books full of photography (such as Classic Shots by Marty Parkes of the USGA, a MUST-see even for non-golf fans) to history, biography, instruction, and, my personal favorite, sarcastic humorous golf comedy books that simply put everyone’s favorite game in perspective.

Intruigued by the latter? Let’s just say when Bobby Rusher’s How to Line Up Your Fourth Putt ($15 at amazon.com) arrived on my desk, my need for a good golf laugh was satiated.

Before I begin, let me reiterate that I don’t condone much, if any, of what Rusher writes about here. But no golfer I know, scratch or otherwise, can deny that some of these thoughts or ideas haven’t passed through their minds. As one person eloquently put it, this book is for those people who need a good laugh at themselves…since others are doing it anyway.

From “How to Avoid the Water When You Lie Eight in the Bunker” (answer: pick up) to “What to Do When You’ve Parred the Course by the 11th Hole” (this was once me!), the 84 one-page chapters of this book contain some of the most sound social sports advice I’ve seen. For those having a rougher day than their opponents, Chapter 62 offers “How to Increase Your Opponent’s Score When You Are Unable to Decrease Your Own.” If you’re behind in your skins game, try Chapter 9: “Using Your Shadow on the Greens to Maximize Earnings” (shadow puppets, anyone?). My fondness, however, lies in Chapter 12, perhaps because of my familiarity with it being used against me: “The Art of Telling Jokes When Your Opponent Is In the Bunker.” You know you’ve done it. Enough said.

Rusher’s not the only genius out there: A Disorderly Compendium of Golf: Wisdom, Folly, Rules, Truths, Trivia and More, by Lorne Rubenstein and Jeff Neuman (best $14 on a golf book spent) will keep even non-reading aficionados interested. If nothing else than for its 50 Most Memorable Lines from Caddyshack.

Until next time…