A fortnight ago, Golf Shoes Blog had just received the two books from Bobby Rusher – “How to line up your fourth putt” and “When to regrip your ball retriever” and after my initial chuckles, I said that I would return with some more comment…

Well I’ve now read both cover to cover and they are worth it, when you have the time.  Though I have to say that the chapter headings remain amongst the funniest bits.  Maybe this time round my favourite was “What to do when your ball retriever is too short to get your putter out of the tree”.  Note; putter!

I did also like the gist of the foreword (pun intended of course) (no pun intended), to wit, that the “ball goes where you hit it”.  I’m not sure if that’s funny, true, sad or just stating the obvious.  I guess that it depends on when you say it…  I’m going to try it on the course next time.

I was also sent some comments and reviews by the great and good.  The trouble is that none are spoofs.  You can see the reviews on their website: Click on the book image to check them.

If you’re reading this Bobby, my review would go like this:

Golf Shoes Blog said: First of all Mr Rusher, I abhor the tennet of your thinking that golf is a game to be won – at all, let alone at any cost!  Fancy instructing others in even the possibility that gentlemen on the course would ever consider some of the tactics that you suggest.  Secondly, I cannot stand the thought that you think golf is a game to be laughed at – or golfers themselves.  It’s like mocking the afflicted.  Or taking the mickey out  of an institutionalised addict. Thirdly, how can you possibly write a whole book on the game and not even mention golf shoes.  This in itself damns your book and all it’s so-called humor”

For those of you golf shoe fans who don’t get the news updates from FootJoy here’s a chance to [a] win some myJoy golf shoes and [b] get signed up (I think the former depends on the latter?).  Follow the link on the picture and do your stuff.  For my part I think that the best looking golf shoes in the contest choices is the smaller picture – style 4 – though not the most unique…

After a long correspondence about whether I’d have a look at these books (I always said yes, but they never arrived) they did finally land on Golf Shoes Blog’s doorstep just before Christmas.  I thought it was a Christmas present – which it was in a way.  Two books and a cd – all available from www.4putt.com.  I guess they would have ideally got them to me earlier so that anyone who read this (and a more detailed review to follow) might have got on the net and bought one (or two) for a Christmas present for the golfer in their life.  They would be great present and now we’ve missed Xmas, then maybe for father’s day or a birthday.

As alluded to,  I will return to them in some more detail – but in the meantime let me say that the chapter titles made me chuckle staight out – like the titles of the books themselves.  By author Bobby Rusher, the original book is “How To Line Up Your Fourth Putt” and the sequel “When To Regrip Your Ball Retriever”. Chapter titles such as “How to hit a Dunlop 2 from the rough on your second shot, when you hit a Titleist 2 from the tee” and “How to get more distance off the shank” tell you much of the wit and off-fairway humour of the books.

There is more than the just the chapter names but the same vein is mined often throughout… such as the opener for the chapter “When to chip from the tee” with the opener being 1. When you already lie 6 on that tee or 3. To get back to the fairway – when you’re on another tee by some odd chance!

One other vein quickly visible thoughout is the wittily wicked gamesmanship (cheating?) which ranges from loudly cleaning your ball to a wollop with a 9-iron to the solar plexus.

If only the humour in the books were more evident on the course at the time when it’s most needed.  It’s definitely an antidote…

More soon when I’ve finished…

Some of you golf shoes fans (or shoppers or searchers) and there are thousands and thousands of you each month (though less last month… because of my negligence recently) may have noticed that my attention and diligence on the golf shoes front has been a bit below par recently!

Well happy new year to you all … which always comes along with good intentions (like the paving on the road to hell).  My intention  is to keep Golf Shoes Blog up to date in 2011 with all the new golf shoes.  Let’s see…

Great looking golf shoes!  Just thought that I’d note them (and picture them) even if I haven’t had time to study properly…

Available in this green, silver, black and brown/orange – though I could swear that I saw these golf shoes in purple too.  Mind, they look good but they have running shoes which look better – but they won’t do the golf bit!

I’m still reeling from the unkindness of ECCO in not sending me a pair of their ladies’ golf shoes last year.  I’m still sore 12 months on…

But I like the look of these golf shoes ~ what ECCO call their “most exclusive offering, the Premium 109 collection” which is, they say, an unrivalled experience designed for those who seek the very best. Cost £2000

Now they do look good but can that price be right?  I did draft this some months ago… (could I blame them for having 33 months off from golf shoes?) I need more independent info…

Meanwhile I’m good enough to quote them… “This unique, numbered edition of rich, crocodile skin golf shoes is individually crafted and handmade-to-order by highly skilled artisans. Each of the 109 pairs to be produced is accompanied by a distinctive collector’s accessory package. This includes a crocodile leather luggage tag made from the exact same, hand-selected hides used to make the shoes (nice touch), a platinum plate with the player’s name and shoe edition number, cedar shoe trees and a gold-colored silk shoe bag.  So maybe the price is right…

Now there was news about these a year ago… Did they sell all 109 pairs of these special golf shoes?  I never got that press release… and they’re still on their site.

Do you remember that we talked about Ryan Moore quite a lot on Golf Shoes Blog ~ at first for being “unbranded” and then for rather cleverly throwing in his lot with makers in which he got a share of the whole kaboodle.  Clever boy…  Then I also wrote about the TRUE Linkswear Golf Shoes and then I had an email from the CEO of the company offering me a pair to test when they’re ready…

He said… ” Hi… we only have a dozen or so pairs of shoes on the ground in the US – Ryan has most of them and a couple of other product testers – including yours truly – have the others. I will definitely keep you in touch (I paraphrase slightly) and let you know when we have some more that can be sent out for review”. 

So of course I was quite excited about seeing and reviewing a pair of  these new and special golf shoes – for all the reasons mentioned in the introduction above and the fact that I admire Ryan Moore for this move. And the golf shoes look great.

I’m still catching up and getting the old draft news out from months ago… so this isn’t new to you but I like the look of these – at least the ladies styling.  No details but a picture of these light weight golf shoes (the clue’s in the name…)

I guess that you’d be waiting for next spring now to take these out for a clima-cool round

I can’t find prices so maybe they sold out/suspended stock till the spring.  I must get up to date.

I only write this because I’m intrigued about what BIOM golf shoes are…

I’m miffed at ECCO because they send me all their puff and when I asked if they could send me a pair of their ladies’ golf shoes for my wife (so I could write great things about them no doubt) they never even replied to me.  My wife wasn’t going to play golf in them but I needed an Xmas present desperately!  “Zero points” ECCO!

Meanwhile some of the blurb (edited) from ECCO themselves… 19-Year-Old Star to Compete in New Golf Street, BIOM Golf Footwear
…the addition of Jennifer Johnson to the roster of elite staff players …its range of premium golf footwear featuring a unique blend of hand-crafted quality, comfort, performance and style.

Johnson will showcase the ECCO logo on her headwear and compete exclusively in the company’s new Golf Street and BIOM Golf models…. will also be featured in marketing initiatives supporting the 2011 ECCO golf shoe collection… turned professional in June after an outstanding amateur career that included finishing as low-amateur at the 2010 US Women’s Open

The blurb continues … BIOM Golf, the first-ever natural motion golf shoe, features a patented design that takes advantage of the foot’s system for absorbing impact while bringing players closer to the ground for unmatched feel and traction… Golf Street’s fashion leather types, subtle detailing and unique, super-gripping outsole make it a bright, funky and fun shoe for use both on and off the course.

Now, I’ve been away so I have some catching up to do and I will get the detail on these golf shoes and see if they are the new deal which I always hope for… Watch this space…

I know that I’m supposed to write about golf shoes but after two years with only a few small gaps, I had another golf shoes holiday.  That doesn’t mean that I went on holiday with any golf shoes or even played   golf.  It just means that I had a break from writing (or even reading) about golf shoes.  But three months! Was it really that long…

So what happened in my absence?  We’ll see when I catch up with all the news and even put to bed the drafts I left all that time ago.  let’s see what’s new in the world of golf shoes… I bet most of the puff is who won what wearing what golf shoes.  “Ours” of course, they’ll say. No-one ever says well done to Johny Otherbrand who won in their shoes!