Should golfers searching for a new putter try the Cleveland Classic BRZ?

Walking through to the rear of the local Golfsmith store, the putting green is surrounded by about a hundred different putters. Every big name and style of putter encircle the perimeter from Cleveland, Odyssey, Ping including belly putters, flat blades as well as two and three ball putters.

How many golfers that come upon this area in their local golf shop will walk away with just the right putter?

Some may simply walk over to a putter because of its look, pick it up, feel the weight and then take it into the putting 'green' to see how the ball bounces off of the clubface.

If a few golf balls find their intended target then 'voilà' the putter goes home with golfer to try out on the golf course. If the 'flat blade' works for a golfer out on the course then it gets rave reviews and pitched to friends, family, any one who will listen. If, however, your game suffers and your putts per round increase, that new putter either gets returned, exchanged or relegated to golf bag storage.

The above trial and error is one of the mainstays in which the amateur golfer can tell which putter works as putting is definitely based on feel.

I just received another email from a golf club manufacturer, Cleveland Golf, this time urging me to try the latest Classic 1 BRZ putter, "inspired by the classics, crafted for performance". 

The new Cleveland Classic BRZ 1 putters are designed with a copper infused face insert for a soft yet responsive feel at impact and comes with its very own oil cloth to help prevent oxidation. According to PutterZone.com, "oil cloths are typically associated with high-end carbon steel putters bearing “oil can” and black oxide finishes.

Putterzone.com continued with the fact that the "finishes are much more sensitive to the elements—such as water and fertilizer—than stainless steel or plated finishes. Rubbing them down with oil adds a protective barrier to rust and corrosion."

Great, more work trying to keep my golf clubs in optimum condition.

The soft feel at impact as well as heel-toe weighting, however, may provide interest to golfers who will benefit from added forgiveness.

As it is said, 'it's the arrow, not the Indian' so the question for me is whether or not the reward of placing a new putter in my bag to possibly see an improvement in my putting outweighs the risk? Also, shelling out approximately $100 for yet another putter when my Odyssey two-ball putter does the job doesn't necessarily seem worth the investment.

On the flip side, the Cleveland Classic line of putters have earned best buy honors from PutterZone.com for the past two years and are really great looking! However, with all of the many choices in putters, don't be too quick to grab a putter from your local golf store with the hopes of improving your stroke and lowering your score.

Take your time to research the different putters on the market, find a golf store where you can feel the putter in your hands, take more than a few putts and be sure to ask about a return or exchange policy.

With golf club manufacturers eager for your business, be aware that sales is their primary concern. It is up to you to understand the market as well as your stroke.

Tiger Woods' Masters Chatter takes center stage from John Daly

Which PGA Tour event is being played this week?

Maybe this is just a rhetorical question as anyone keeping track of the PGA Tour can easily find the information but, with the internet and other assorted golf venues clogging up the airwaves with the return of Tiger Woods at the Masters Tournament, I had to go to the very bottom of the Golf Channel website in order to find out that the Transitions Championship is being telecast live today. I guess the Golf Channel must feel that "buzz" sells better than golf.

Even the mesmerizing John Daly, with his own Golf Channel presence and past indiscretions, cannot hold the attention of the public like the current fiasco which surrounds Woods. 

I wonder if Daly is happy that the press is leaving him be for the present or dismayed about his loss of coverage to Tiger?

From "The Biggest Story Ever" which claims that Tiger Woods is indeed not as "big" as the Masters itself (but his story is) to "Things We Won't See or Hear at the Masters" which is basically a litany of Tiger briefings aimed at quelling the Q & A's before they start flying, golf writers are having a field day wondering what to talk about next in order to get as much press out of "The Return" as possible.

Frankly, I'm just interested in hunkering down to my yearly ritual and watching the Masters at Augusta. Knowing in advance that this particular major is known for its southern graciousness and hospitality, I don't think it will be because of the Masters that the tournament turns into a media circus.

As Richard Roeper stated, "With Tiger's return, the 2010 Masters will probably be the highest-rated golf tournament ever -- but that still won't make it the second-biggest event in 10 to 15 years." That is, as Roeper mentioned, unless Woods has the wherewithal to levitate above the golf course and start speaking in tongues."

Let's give each tournament the respect it's due, follow golf for the sake of the sport and leave personal sentiment and proclivities behind closed doors, where they belong!

Check out the Transitions Championship this week on the Golf Channel.

Is Trump International Puerto Rico challenging enough for the PGA Tour?

Golf fans are creatures of habit and are therefore are used to watching a regulation four rounds of tournament golf on the usual Thursday through Sunday without interruption. When that schedule goes awry, viewers tend to scatter and abandon their proclivities for other more regularly scheduled programming.

So went the tale of the 2010 Puerto Rico Open. Weather delays forced fans who normally would have been swept up by the drama of "must see" golf television to comfortably burrow into their strato-loungers and follow the WGC-CA Championships where Ernie Els did not disappoint.

As golf writers desperately searched for inspiring stories by following veteran John Daly (T24), one overlooked yet newsworthy rookie, Derek Lamely, was surging up the leaderboard.

Although Lamely won on the Nationwide Tour in 2009, his name is not yet synonymous with the big draws because it takes time and many attempts to get noticed and some positive press. Although he m/c'd his last three out of four events Derek has made four out of eight cuts on the PGA Tour this season.

Even more impressive, looking at Tour stats, Derek not only turned in the second lowest final 36 holes on the PGA Tour this year with a 15-under 129 but fired a course record 9-under 63 in the third round. His 19-under 269 total is a tournament record. Last year Derek finished tied for thirteenth after entering the event as a Monday qualifier.

Derek Lamely made Trump International golf course look easy!

Congratulations to Derek Lamely on his breakthrough win! With his full exemption on the PGA Tour through the 2012 season, does he now have enough confidence to take on Tiger Woods?

As Derek Lamely admitted after his win, "I'm still a rookie out here, even though I just won."

In spite of rainy conditions at the 2010 Puerto Rico Open an estimated 30,000 people attended the event at Trump International Golf Club. Barry and I spent much of our time tweeting and taking pictures from the Banco Popular and Puerto Rico Tourism skyboxes, as well as from areas around the 14th and 18th holes.

More images of the 2010 Puerto Rico Open at Trump International Golf Club can be seen on our Flickr page.

Golf for Beginners would like to thank Puerto Rico Tourism as well as Banco Popular for their hospitality during this exciting PGA Tour event week.