The winter months divide amateur British Golfers between those that play all year round, however cold or wet; and those who prefer to escape the winter with a holiday or golf break to warmer climates such as Turkey, Canary Islands and the Mediterranean.  Letting family and friends know your preference well in advance is a good idea when it comes to receiving Christmas presents.

Buying new golf clubs is an obvious choice for any keen golfer and in the main I am fortunate that most of my family know my clubs of choice.  Every golfer has particular fancies when it comes to which make and model he or she believes suits their ability and style.

The good thing about buying Christmas presents for a fellow golfer in the family is there are plenty of small inexpensive and useful presents such as golf gloves, socks, tees and of course golf balls.  But as for receiving golf clothing, well that might depend on your current plans as to whether you prefer a t-shirt and shorts or jumper and waterproofs.

Fortunately for golfers, we have had a mild winter in the south of England.  The north-east and Scotland have had snow but nothing on the scale of the last two winters where golf courses were closed over several weekends between December and February. Today is bright and dry, with nothing more than a breeze.  Perfect winter day conditions to play a round of golf; out in the fresh air, away from any family feuds and walking off any over indulgencies from the festive period.

For me, the worst thing about the winter months is not so much the cold, but the dark nights.  Like many golfers, it’s difficult to find the time during the day to play enough golf, so I have to play at the weekends with everyone else trying to book a tee time before mid-afternoon.  It’s not long before we will notice lighter evenings and the possibility of playing nine holes or even squeezing in a quick round in the evenings; and with it warmer weather.

Until then, you take your choice to play throughout the year through whatever weather, keep to the driving range, or book a mid-winter holiday break.

Marbas Golf Clothes

Marbas, the Italian golf clothes brand renowned for its fine, high quality shirts and luxury knitwear, has appointed specialist golf marketing and PR firm Landmark Media International to manage its media relations and support further expansion in the UK, Ireland and the Middle East.

Marbas is the brand name of the golfwear collection of New Marbas SpA, an Italian textile company specialising in the manufacture of garments in high-quality natural fibres and a leader in the production of mercerised fabrics. New Marbas SpA was established in 1980 by Edguardo Marinelli and Fabio Bassinelli (hence Marbas), with the Marbas golf brand launching two decades later in the year 2000.

The agency will now promote Marbas, an accredited supplier to the Open Championship and prominent at high-end golf resorts and links courses on the Open rota, to help raise brand awareness, communicate new products and retail services.

“With many of the courses on the Open rota, including St Andrews Links, Carnoustie, Royal St George’s and Turnberry, stocking Marbas garments, we have seen our retail base grow steadily and believe now is the right time to expand further,” commented Fabio Bassinelli, one of Marbas’ founding partners.

The company, which was established 30 years ago as a textile manufacturer, supplying some of the biggest names in designer fashion, prides itself in using only the finest natural fibres. Egyptian Makò Cotton is used in all Marbas’ double-mercerised cotton shirts, while exquisite Zenga Baruffa wool defines the brand’s luxury knitwear collection.

Marbas Golf, an accredited supplier to buying group TGI Golf, is currently available in more than 200 retail outlets in the UK, Ireland and the Middle East.

Marbas Golf will be showcasing its Spring-Summer 2011 Collection for the UK & Ireland at the Golf Show 2010 in Harrogate at stand C26.

For more information about Marbas Golf, visit www.marbasgolf.it

More BMX's Less BMW's

Those crazy anarchist golfers at Golf Refugees have created a Survival Handbook and believe its about time we stood up against the stupidity and stuffiness of golf authorities.

Are there too many rules in golf?

Golf rules are generated by an ever expanding army of blazers who lunch out and devise a few more convoluted rules over a glass of port. Soon it will be called the ‘Encyclopedia Rules of Golf’.

Do any amateurs or pros know the rules of golf?

Let’s cut our defence budget and get back to a few simple rules of golf. Play the ball where it lies, which we can all remember and comprehend.

Why are dress codes for young golfers devised by old men who wear their trousers around their chests?

Let’s have a flexible dress code where golfers of all ages can wear what they like. Why do we insist on dressing teenage golfers to look like their dads? Fashion tastes of young people are only objectionable to old farts, who probably wore something similar when they were young.

Isn’t it about time we started to ask how our golf apparel is made?

Synthetic polyester derived from petroleum is a favoured fabric. It’s single environmental saving grace is that it can be recycled.  So why aren’t the big golf brands manufacturing shirts made from recycled polyester?

Here is the Golf Refugees survival manifesto:

More BMX’s less BMW’s in golf club car parks.
More t-shirts and trainers on the fairways.
More carbon neutral golf apparel.

For information on products and refreshing ideas go to www.golf-refugees.com

Specifically engineered as a uni-body single component design offering the high performance
characteristics today’s golfer demands.

Mark Schneider has taken an innovative approach by questioning whether a tee would offer a sweeter drive shot, when using in very hard ground, if the bottom of the golf tee was a blade and not a point.

Every tee since it’s conception in 1899 uses a point. Hitherto, golf tee solutions to create the perfect tee shot has focused on the head of the tee. Three prongs, four prongs, bristles, rubber and good old fashioned wooden golf tees all have their fans. But Schneider’s focus on developing his golf tee was at the point of breakage.

The result was the Tomahawx™ golf tees use a quarter-round tapered knife-edge which allows typical vertical insertion but allows the tee to rotate forward horizontally resistance-free at impact.

Mark Schneider explains how the tee works:

“The front face is flat creating a natural point of pivot for the bottom to rotate thru. The tapered knife-edge creates it’s own unique cavity in the ground. Tomahawx™ are very easily inserted vertically just like an ordinary standard tee. But rotate forward horizontally resistance-free.”

Tomahawx™ Golf Tees are currently available in the USA and from www.tomahawx.com.

SPECIAL OFFER
Buzzin Golf readers can save up to 50% by entering the discount coupon code: code bzg09 on the “Buy Now” page.

The Funky Golf Gear online shop sells designer clothes from the likes of Cutter & Buck, Stuburt, Cross, Cross Creek, Adidas & William Hunt, to name a few.

If you like to dress up to play golf you should take a look.

To receive an extra 15% discount add promo code ‘LGS2008′ to your basket.

This discount code is valid until 30th June 2008.

Cutters are an American company that have made their name and built their reputation by producing top quality professional gloves for baseball and American Football.

Now they have used their expertise and quality designs to create a range of golf gloves.

The gloves are made from a combination of re-engineered ultra thin C-TACK^TM performance grip material and premium Grade A Cabretta leather which gives the glove a very soft, comfortable feel with an exceptionally strong grip.

The C-TACK^TM grip is placed on the thumb and three finger tips, as well as to the side of the palm to allow for perfect slip-free grip for all types of golf swing. Getting used to the glove I realised how this helped me hold the club with less muscle tension.

This is a great improvement for someone relatively new to the game like myself, though would be as useful to a seasoned pro.

The Cutters Golf Gloves comes in two designs – Tour (left) and Humid (below).

I have used the C-TACK^TM Humid over the past couple of weeks and found the grip to be excellent.

The back of the Humid glove is made of a breathable, lightweight material that, with the well positioned air holes, allowed my hand to breathe more readily and reduce a sweaty palm. This helped my game and was more comfortable on the hottest days.

The only difference between the design of the palms of the two glove design is the Humid Glove comes with an extra line of perspiration holes.

The C-TACK^TM Humid comes in a choice of grey or orange.

The gloves are currently not stocked by UK retailers but can be bought direct from the Cutters website.

I would certainly recommend this glove as a major breakthrough because of the quality of the grip that it offers without compromises at all on the perfect fit, comfortable feel or durability of a golf glove.

Try one & let us know how you get on.