Relief from Hand Pain, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Last week was the annual PGA Merchandise Show at The Orlando Convention Center, where all things new and exciting in the world of golf equipment, accessories, instruction and fashion gather together. Big names, little names, and no names are all in one building, vying for attention and hoping for big sales and recognition. This was my third trip to the show. The first two years I was so overwhelmed by the size of the show - there are literally miles of aisles to walk - and the sheer number of exhibitors and products. The newness is finally wearing off and I could start eliminating the products that I had seen before, were just another incarnation of an idea that was better before, and some that were just plain silly. OK, some of the silly ideas were the most fun, but for the most part, the people with the silly products were investing a lot of money to show a product that had no chance.

My favorite "silly" product was a single rider golf cart built to look like a motorcycle. The electric motor only generates enough power to go 8-10 mpg, and your bag fits under the seat, making access to little things like the ball pocket of most bags difficult to reach - but it LOOKED like fun.

How about a putter with a price range from a couple of hundred to several thousand dollars? The alignment line of the Gemspot putter is made of real gem stones. The price of the putter depends on what stones you want to put on the club. They actually had a putter worth $5,000 with diamonds across the top.

How about a spike attachment for the butt end of the club so that when you take more than one club across the fairway, you can attach the spike and stick it in the ground to make your clubs more visible and harder to leave behind? Clubzup.com brought that idea to life.

AMAZING TECHNOLOGY … Maybe you've been wishing you could take a small LCD screen that would wrap around the toe of one of your shoes so you could tap your toe and be reminded of your swing thoughts or instruction keys. Yep - got one. At Your Feet does just that. You connect the device to your computer and type up to 18 instructions or thoughts in a handful of words. The screen straps to your golf shoe, and when you tap your toe, the next instruction pops up. Thanks, but I still have paper and pens handy.

There were tees of all shapes and sizes. One new tee is spring loaded to reduce interference, but is expected to break down after 15-18 rounds. That's 14 swings of the driver during a round. If it lasts 20 rounds, that's 280 balls. If you warm up with this tee, you cut the life of the tee way down, and your $7 tee is in the trash can in just a few rounds. For the most part, the products on display in this carnival-like atmosphere had some merit, even if they were just another version of an already existing product. A store or course or other golf facility might come across an idea that fits their style better than the rest.

The Sfear golf ball is a terrific little practice ball that you can knock around inside the house without worrying about breaking most windows or putting dents in the furniture. It looks like a small version of the "stress reliever" ball with the rubber tentacles. I have no idea how many times you can hit the Sfear before the tentacles start to shred, but it does work.

You've probably seen the Gripps balls at your favorite golf store. Well, the Gripps people have a new ball that you can put in the microwave or refrigerator and use for heat or cold therapy. Arthritic hands were the original inspiration behind this little jewel.

GREAT GRIP … One brilliant piece of exercise equipment I found was the Xtensor. It straps right to your hand and works the extending muscles in the hand. Your fingers fit into little cups attached to rubber straps and you stretch your fingers out. Just about everything we do requires us to wrap our hands and fingers around something for gripping, but our bodies are built with opposing muscles for us to release that grip. We very rarely exercise those muscles, which causes an imbalance in the musculature of the hands. That weakness in the hands can cause stress on the wrist and elbow and even further up the arms. Do a Google search on extensor and you will find dozens of articles on injuries in extending muscles and tendons. Check out www.thextensor.com - it's worth a look. Here's one you didn't see coming. How about CROCS golf shoes? You can now buy those lovable rubber shoes with golf spikes. They are supposed to run about $10 more than regular Crocs. As silly as they look, if you try them, you will have to admit that they are incredibly comfortable. Not sure how well they will do as a golf shoe since the platform is so much higher than regular golf shoes, but if you can make that adjustment, you will like these shoes. They are also making adjustments to the Bite golf sandals for extra comfort and support.

It's going to take a while to organize all the notes that come out of a show like this, but next week I will give you a list of some of the best clubs, balls and a couple of training aids from the Merchandise Show. Capps can be reached by onthegreen@scoreatl.com.

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