It's hard to let go of the magic.

You never know until it's there. You know, a special day of golf.

Met a golf bud of mine at one of my least favorite courses for some late afternoon golf yesterday. He was late (as usual) and we didn't tee off until 4:15.

Smashed a nice 3 wood off the first tee down the left center. Should have been perfect. Instead, I nearly didn't find it. Turns out it was in some old, muddy tire tracks.

Bogey...bogey...bogey...double. 

Each bogey a missed par put that coulda (but didn't) fall.

Sigh.

Then, a hard working par.

Then, a really good drive on a tight par 5 and a 3 wood onto the front of the green with a front pin.

Tap in birdie.

Followed by a bogey.

But then, easy par, easy par shoulda been a birdie on a long par 3 over water.

The sun fell behind the San Rafael Hills before we finished the 9th.

But, we carried on until it was too dark to see and almost too dark to drive the cart back. The darker it got, the better I hit it. My last shot was a hybrid to a back pin of long par three.

Yellow ball...saw it sail over the flag.

No, didin't make it, but tapped in for par.

We finished 14 holes, putted out on all of 'em. It was one of the only times I have ever been glad I was in a cart. It would have been impossible to cover the ground on foot in the time we had.

It's a long golf course...

Anyway, the whole thing, going from the late start, to being unlucky and annoyed on the first, to going from bad to good (and even better than good) then toward the dark, had that odd and wonderful kind of buzz only golf can deliver.

I'm playing again in a couple hours, but I almost don't want to go.

It's hard to let go of the magic.

PURE Grip: Truly a Better Golf Grip

Most people know golf equipment as gotten better over the years.

Or has it?

There was a time when pretty much all grip companies made their products from natural rubber, right here in the US. That day is gone. Today's grips are made of thermoplastics, polymers and silicone and most are made anywhere but here. 

I'm not the only one to question if this is a good trend.

PURE Grip makes their grips in Arizona and they make them out of 100% natural rubber. Making their product in the US gives them quality control, using actual rubber gives golfers control and the great feel only 100% rubber can provide.

One claim I was a little suspicious of was PURE's contention that their grips will last longer than the competition. I wasn't sure why that would be true and, worse, I wasn't sure how I could test the claim. Stay tuned and I'll tell you about my test later.

Let's cut to the chase: PURE Grips feel fantastic. The grip surface is uniformly tacky and cleans up perfectly after play. I must say they feel a lot like the premium rubber grips of years ago that I'm more than old enough to remember. I installed sample grips on my driver, hybrid, 7 iron and sand wedge so I could get a feel for how they worked with a variety of swings. The grips PURE supplied varied in style and surface type, but each has a distinctive and secure PURE feel that will be hard to give up once you've tried it.

Back to my durability test. When I did was to take two wedges, both freshly gripped, one with a PURE grip and the other with a very well-known brand of grip (you know which brand). Then, each wedge was left in the trunk of my car for months, in Los Angeles, in one of the hottest summers in recent memory. Every now and then, I'd take both wedges with me to the driving range. After a short time, the competing grip started to feel hard and plasticky; almost like it was breaking down and old mold release material was leaching out. The PURE grip stayed fresh and tacky feeling over the long hot summer. Even someone who doesn't play could feel the difference right away.

By using PURE Grips, I can finally say that all golf equipment is better than it used to be. It took a long time to find a grip that is genuinely better than the rest, but PURE Grips were worth the wait.

Ryder Cup 2012: The Three Mistakes of Davis Love III

Images by Action Images - www.actionimages.com

In case you wonder who the three mistakes are, I'll be happy to give you their names:

Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker & Steve Stricker.

Hopefully, Davis Love III is the last Ryder Cup Captain to believe the Grizzled Verteran Theory of Captain's Picks. Here's hoping he's also the last captain to favor players from his own generation when he makes those picks.

I think the Ryder Cup selection process is ready for a change: Either comprise the team of the Top 12 or give the captain the power to pick every member of his team.

Even though DLIII's picks were lousy, what really got the US team was being too hot early and just not hot enough down the stretch. It's that simple and it's the flip-side of what happened to Europe in 1999, In golf, there's simply no way to keep a fire burning that brightly all three days.

I cannot figure out why there's always something awkward about the US team. Mickelson's obviously well-intended kudos to Rose just felt rather weird; calculated, contrived...just odd. Jim Furyk is usually a little prickly after a loss but his, "Ask Sergio and he'll tell you I outplayed him." comment was even less gracious than usual.

The Americans seem destine to go over the top when they win and become sullen and humorless when they lose.

The Euros? Well, somehow they're always just the Euros.