America vs. Europe!

What is the state of American professional golf at this time? The Ryder Cup matches are coming up in a few weeks, and the Europeans seem to be stronger than the Americans at this point in time.

As a manufacturer and inventor of revolutionary new golf equipment from 1987 through 1994, I noticed something I have never noticed before when I was watching the European tour event this morning on The Golf Channel. Two European golfers I was watching on one green were putting, back to back, with putter grips I had never seen before!

At that moment I asked myself whether European pros could be using golf equipment that was completely different from the equipment being used by American pros! That would seem to be almost impossible considering how small the globe is with the internet in this day and age.

But the thought lingered most of the day while I ran errands around Ashland, Oregon today. I remembered last year when K. J. Choi was seen using a fat, round, white putter grip at the Memorial. I had never seen that grip before.

So for the next week or so I am going to do some investigating to see what I can learn about the golf equipment European Ryder Cup team members are using, and whether it may differ from the equipment American Ryder Cup team members may be using in the upcoming Ryder Cup matches.

Golf equipment may seem to be the same, but subtle differences can make a huge difference in performance. For example, members on both teams may use Taylor Made drivers, but the shafts used can be different, and grips can make a huge difference. The putting grips I saw on TV this morning had flat sections running from the top of the grip to the bottom of the grip, and there were many flat sections. I would guess the grip, each one, had at least eight, possibly ten flat sections. I had never before seen such a putter grip.

The two putting grips I saw this morning were similar, but one was orange and one was white. They could be the same grip, except for the color. Then again, they could be entirely different.

Stay tuned for the next few days and I'll report what I am able to learn about the differences in golf equipment used by both the American Ryder Cup team and the European team members. This should be interesting!