PGA Demo Day Leads Off The Week In Orlando

M1040004It’s been a long day with lots of things to do, people to see, products to try out! Demo day is held at the Orange National Golf Course outside of Orlando and it is quite the show stopper. A driving range more than 400 yards across takes center stage. Around the perimeter, equipment vendors of all things related to the golf swing set up those funky little kiosks and invite the pros and media to test out their latest products.

I wore my golf shoes (they are usually comfortable when I trek around the golf course for 5 or so miles, so I figured they would be easy enough for the Demo Day. Not only that, but I remembered from last year, that the guys at Soft Spikes were eager to replace the spikes on the shoes of any golfer who entered their booth wearing golf shoes. I got mine fully replaced with their latest spike: the Crystal! It’s a spike without color. One of the salesmen explained: “Golfers were complaining that they didn’t like mixing and matching odd colors on their spikes, so we decided to make a spike without any color at all. The Crystal will easily last a couple of months if you play 2 or 3 times a week.”

I’m a happy camper.

Next, I stopped at the Golf Swing Shirt booth. They had sent me a sample of this new product, which is now under review by my local PGA instructor to test and see how it performs. The booth was packed with curious golfers. I met Jimmy Ballard, teaching pro who endorses the product. He gave me the background on the shirt’s development. They swear it works! Check out the videos on their website to see how this thing performs. Once we get back our product review, we’ll have more to say about this product.

lexithompsonFar around the demo circle, I came across a demo with Lexi Thompson at the Puma display. Surrounded by a crowd of admirers, she was demonstrating her short game with some of Cobra’s new clubs. Got a photo, but not an interview. Crowds just kept pressing.

I tested a few putters from Callaway. I use a two ball white hot Odyssey myself and prefer the mallet style putter. A lot of women do. One of their latest designs duplicates the style of the two ball, but surrounds the circles of white with black. They claim it accents the alignment and helps the golfer focus. I’ll check them out in more detail tomorrow at the trade show.

Tomorrow the focus will be on fashion and accessories. I’ve got interviews lined up and will be reporting late tomorrow. Stay tuned!

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