Virtually every ball manufacturer has
a couple of tour-only designs available
to its staff players. Such was the case
for Rocco Mediate during his win in his
first Champions Tour appearance at the
Allianz Championship. Mediate played
Titleist’s new Pro V1x+ ball, which has
shallower dimples that affect aerody-
namics, promoting a slightly higher flight
without affecting launch conditions.
… Retief Goosen came to the AT& T
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am armed
with an overhauled set of clubs, including
TaylorMade’s new R1 driver and a pair of
RocketBallz Stage 2 fairway woods ( 14. 5
and 18. 5 degrees). The biggest change,
however, was in Goosen’s irons. Tradition-
ally a muscleback-blade player who had
TaylorMade’s Tour Preferred MB irons in
play last season, Goosen used the new
RocketBladez Tour Irons at Pebble Beach
en route to a T- 9 finish in which he hit 76.4
percent of his greens in regulation (ranked
T- 10). … Richard H. Lee switched drivers
midway through the Waste Management
Phoenix Open, changing to Ping’s new
G25. Lee continued with the club during
his T- 12 at the AT& T and ranked second in
accuracy for the week at 85.5 percent.
COURTESY ADIDAS; EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES; STAN BADZ/PGA TOUR
contract or agreement associated
with what they are promoting, the
individual forfeits his or her amateur status regardless of golf skill or
reputation.
This passage is where it gets sticky,
yet the ambiguity works in favor of
the celebrities who have deals. First,
some of the agreements are not really
agreements, but rather relationships
where there is nothing that would
constitute a written or oral pact.
For those that are written or oral
agreements, they likely do not include
specific promotional duties. Under
the Rules of Amateur Status, it is
permissible to accept golf equipment
and play with it, which is essentially
what many of these celebrities do,
provided they are not required to use
the equipment. Another way to get
around the rule may be to do what
Callaway did with Timberlake—make
him an employee. In late 2011 Calla-
way announced that Timberlake was
being brought on as its creative direc-
tor. Again, fully permissible so long as
it is not deemed that he had golf skill
or reputation.
WINNERS’ BAGS
BRANDT SNEDEKER
AT&T PEBBLE BEACH
NATIONAL PRO-AM
> Ball: Bridgestone Tour B330
> Driver: TaylorMade Burner SuperFast
(Fujikura Motore VC 7. 2), 8. 5 degrees
> 3-Wood: Tour Edge Exotics CB4, 13
degrees > Hybrid: Ping Anser, 20 degrees
> Irons (4-PW): Bridgestone J40 CB
>Wedges: Bridgestone J40 Black ( 52, 56
degrees); Titleist Vokey Spin Milled C-C
TVD K-Grind ( 60 degrees) > Putter:
Odyssey White Hot XG Rossie
ROCCO MEDIATE
ALLIANZ CHAMPIONSHIP
> Ball: Titleist Pro V1x+ > Driver:
TaylorMade RocketBallz Tour,
8 degrees > 3-Wood: TaylorMade Rocket-
Ballz Tour, 14. 5 degrees > Hybrid: Taylor-
Made RocketBallz Tour, 18. 5 degrees
> Irons (3-PW): Ping i20 > Wedges: Titleist
Vokey SM4 ( 52, 56 degrees) > Putter:
Scotty Cameron by Titleist GoLo N5
