Why equipment companies created custom camouflage products for the Rocket Mortgage Classic

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JACKSON, Miss. – Patrick Armour celebrated his ninth birthday Saturday in Jupiter, Florida, and his father Ryan wasn’t there to hand him a present. Maybe Armour will bring him a trophy and a $774,000 first-place check instead. Armour took a big step in securing that special prize on Saturday, overcoming chilly weather and a string of bogeys to fire a 5-under 67 in the third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship to take a five-shot lead into Sunday’s final round at the Country Club of Jackson. Armour sits at 15 under par. Chesson Hadley (68) and Vaughn Taylor (70) are tied for second at 10 under. Scott Strohmeyer (68), Beau Hossler (69), Ben Silverman (69), and Seamus Power (71) are tied for fourth at 9 under. Armour, 41, is seeking his first PGA TOUR title in his 105th TOUR event. The journeyman who has been on and off the TOUR since 2007 – he didn’t make a start on the PGA TOUR from 2011-14 – credits his home life for his recent resurgence away from home. Wife Erin and sons Patrick and Nicholas, 6, have added order to his life and helped him focus on his goals. “The kids have helped me become more disciplined,â€� said Armour. “Back coming out of college, you thought you could do everything. But now with kids who get up early, wanting to be part of their life, I want to have energy. I get to bed early and up early, and that’s discipline that’s helping me on the golf course. “I’m happy where I’m at with my family, my caddy, my instructor. My parents are healthy finally, everything is falling into place.” Thursday’s first round and most of Friday’s second round were played in near ideal conditions, breezy with temperatures near 80. When the third round started Saturday, it was in the 40s, and the highs never climbed out of the 50s. Biting, swirling winds added to the chill factor – and the uncertainty on judging shots. An Ohio native who now calls Florida home, Armour fought through those conditions to post the day’s low round – despite making bogeys on holes No. 5, 6, 7. Four straight birdies on the back nine, capped by a 57-foot putt on the most difficult hole on the course, the par-4 16th, helped him regain control. Armour took just 26 putts and made eight birdies Saturday. He followed his bogey string by stuffing an 8-iron to 4 feet for birdie on No. 8, made a 21-footer from the fringe for birdie on No. 10, and then got on a roll – again – on Nos. 13-16. That birdie binge marked the second straight round he parred each of those holes. Asked how he’ll handle being in the final group on Sunday, the even-natured Armour said he’ll do what he’s done each day. “Kind of stick with what you’re doing,â€� he said. “You’re not always going to be able to, but my strength is – obviously, I have figured this out, finally – driving it in the fairway, hitting it on the green, and trying to make putts. I don’t overpower a golf course.â€� Maybe so, but so far he’s overpowered the field – his five-shot lead is the largest 54-hole lead in this event since 1986. OBSERVATIONS Strohmeyer is bidding to become perhaps the most unlikely PGA TOUR winner ever. Strohmeyer, who will be in Sunday’s final threesome with Armour and Hadley, shot 68 on Friday and is in a five-way tie for third at 9 under, six shots off the lead. Several factors make his position highly unusual. One, this is his first PGA TOUR event (he’s never even played in a Web.com Tour event). Two, he gained entry into the event through the Monday qualifier at nearby Deerfield Golf Club, holing out for eagle from a bunker on the third playoff hole. And three, he had to play to get through the pre-qualifier at Deerfield last week just to get into Monday’s four-spotter. “It’s been a rollercoaster,â€� said Strohmeyer, who was a teammate at Alabama with 2017 PGA TOUR Player of the Year Justin Thomas. “When I finished on Monday I thought I was going to miss it by one. I was kind of kicking myself because I left a lot of shots out there. I hung around, hoping for a playoff. And then I had to make like a 15-footer on the second hole just to go to the next one. So it’s been an awesome opportunity.â€� He said he’s leaned on Thomas for advice this week. “He’s got tons of experience with stuff like this,â€� Strohmeyer said. “This is my first PGA TOUR event. He said to take what’s given me but also be myself. I learned the hard way, I guess, three, four weeks ago at Q-School. I tried not to be myself and it didn’t work out.â€� The last Monday qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR was Arjun Atwal at the 2010 Wyndham Championship. There were no bogey-free rounds recorded in the third round. Hadley’s 68 included one bogey, on the par-4 12th, when his second shot from 125 yards out of the rough flew the green. “It came out pretty nuclear,â€� he said. “I was posing. I was looking right at it, and it just smoked the grandstand (behind the green) and then ricocheted off the ShotLink tower. It was not awesome back there, to be honest. If I can do something differently on that hole, I think I’m going to hit the green tomorrow and maybe one-putt for a birdie.â€� With his father Davis Love III following him for part of the round, Dru Love shot 72 and is T-16, nine shots off the lead. Davis Love III missed the 36-hole cut and spent part of Saturday morning bow-hunting for deer. Beau Hossler had one of the more unusual bogeys of the day on the par-4 9th hole, playing his third shot from behind the grandstands that are located behind the green. Hossler’s second shot from 127 yards flew the green, hit a sprinkler head, bounced over the grandstand, and across a cart path before coming to rest in a grassy area next to the CCJ clubhouse, some 52 yards from the hole. After much consultation with rules officials, it was decided his point of relief would have placed him in a flowerbed and bushes, so he played his third shot from the grass, flopping a lob wedge over the grandstand and onto the green. The ball trickled off the front, but he got up and down for bogey. “It was adventurous,â€� he said. “Very interesting.â€� QUOTABLE “The golf course is playing really tough with how cold and how windy it is, so if you start getting wrapped up in how other people are doing you’re going to get yourself in trouble. I’ve played three really solid rounds. I’m driving it well, putting it well. It’s felt really good thus far. I’m looking forward to the challenge of (Sunday) because I know it’s going to be another really tough day.â€� – Beau Hossler, who has shot 69 in each round “You don’t plan on making those. But as Vaughn (Taylor) said when we were walking to 17, ‘That was in from the minute you hit it.’ Hey, I’ll take it. You don’t plan on them, but definitely take them.â€� – leader Ryan Armour, on the 57-foot birdie putt he drained on No. 16 SUPERLATIVES Low Round – Ryan Armour, 5-under 67. He made eight birdies and three bogeys. Longest Drive – 341 yards, by Wyndham Clark, on hole No. 15. Longest Putt – 57 feet, 3 inches, by Armour, for birdie, on No. 16. Toughest Hole – The par-4 6th hole played to a 4.413 average, yielding just three birdies. There were 30 bogeys and two doubles made there. Easiest Hole – The par-5 14th played to a 4.64 average. There were 29 birdies made there, with only two bogeys and one double. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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ORLANDO, Florida — After Demo Day on Tuesday, it was time to head indoors for the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center. Inside the show, hundreds of golf companies displayed their latest products. My job was to find the coolest and newest products. Below are the highlights. Bushnell’s new Pro XE rangefinder One of the most popular rangefinder makers in golf has a new version that not only measures slope, but also measures temperature and altitude to produce an adjusted “Elementsâ€� yardage. The rangefinder can be made USGA conforming using a toggle that provides only the actual number, as well.  Previously, Bushnell used Jolt technology that would vibrate when the laser locked onto the flagstick. Now, the rangefinder will not only vibrate when locked on target, but a red ring will flash on the display, thus providing visual feedback that a golfer has measured the flagstick, and not a tree behind the green.  Additionally, using BITE technology, the Bushnell Pro XE has magnets on the side of the bodies that golfers can use to mount on a golf cart.  The new rangefinders will sell for $549.99 starting “sometime in March,â€� according to a Bushnell representative.  Voice Caddie SC300 Voice Caddie’s new portable launch monitor uses Doppler Radar technology, and it measures carry distance, swing speed, ball speed, smash factor, launch angle and flight apex. It also has a distance voice output – in other words, an audible reading of how far you hit the ball – and it measures atmospheric pressure.  At the PGA Show, Voice Caddie was running a deal for $330, but the regular price of these launch monitors will be $549.99.  Mizuno launches golf balls in North America Live at the PGA Show on Wednesday morning at its display booth, Mizuno announced new RB Tour and RB Tour X golf balls. These are Mizuno’s first golf balls to ever be released globally.  The higher-flying, higher-spinning RB Tour, and the lower-flying, lower-spinning RB Tour X golf balls each have four-piece constructions with urethane covers. The golf balls have C-dimples to reduce drag, Mizuno said, in addition to a “high-energy ionomer mantle layerâ€� and a dual core with graduated firmness.  They will sell for $43, hitting retail worldwide in February. EvnRoll’s new putters, Roll Board Since 2016, EvnRoll has been making milled putters designed by Guerin Rife that have “Sweet Faceâ€� technology on their faces to improve roll across the impact area. The company has now launched four new head models and “gravityâ€� grips.  The new models include an ER1TS blade, an ER2.2 midblade, an ER5B mallet and an ER8.3 players mallet. The line is highlighted by the ER1TS due to its extreme offset. EvnRoll said the slanted hosel, which makes the shaft measure one-inch from the leading edge of the putter head, helps create greater stability. The increased offset, according to EvnRoll, also helps golfers set the wrist without the need for a forward press.  All of the new putters come stock with ER5 Black grips, but new gravity grips are available for an upcharge. The V-shaped gravity grips have 35-gram EVA foam bodies, nine-inch 70-gram steel rods that run up the lower portions of the grips, and a 15-gram outer wrap. EvnRoll says the 120-gram grip designs help increase stability.  Available in 33-35 inches, the new EvnRoll putters will sell for $359 for the stock grip, and $399 with a gravity grip.  Cobra’s new King MIM wedge Cobra’s new wedges are completely machine-made.  First, the wedge bodies are made using metal injection molding (MIM), a process typically used in golf to make Tungsten inserts for club heads. As part of the process, a mixture of 304 stainless steel powder is heated and injected into a mold. Then, the wedges undergo a robotic polishing procedure on areas such as the sole and topline, instead of any hand polishing. The grooves are CNC milled, and the faces have a circular CNC-milled pattern to maximize spin. Additionally, the wedges are chrome plated.  The aim for Cobra, by eliminating hand polishing, is to make the same shape every time, thus ensuring consistency among retail products.  Cobra’s King MIM wedges come with a “Versatileâ€� grind, which the company said is the same grind Rickie Fowler uses, KBS Rev 2.0 shafts, and they come in lofts of 52-60 degrees. The wedges hit retail on March 15 and will sell for $139 apiece.  Garmin Approach G80 With both radar and GPS technologies, the Garmin Approach G80 acts as both a yardage-gathering device and a launch monitor. The 3.5-inch device measures club head speed, ball speed, smash factor, swing tempo and distance. It also provides golfers access to more than 41,000 golf courses worldwide, according to the company, acting like a GPS; the courses display in color on the screens. The G80 has Touch Targeting to get distances to specific targets, and it provides yardage numbers to front, middle and center of the green.  The Approach G80 is currently available for $499.99.  Wilson launches Staff Model Blades to the public The Wilson Staff blade irons that Gary Woodland popularized over the last few months will now be available in a retail version. They’re forged from 8620 carbon steel, have a high-polish mirror finish, a Fluid Feel Hosel and milled diamond patterns that frame the scoring lines.  Currently available in right-hand only, the new Wilson Staff Model Blades (3-PW) are selling for $1,199 and come stock with Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips and True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts. Golf Pride’s new grips Golf Pride has unveiled four new grip models for 2019, including a “Plus 4â€� Tour Velvet that’s built up with 4-wraps worth of rubber under the bottom hand, a Z-cord Align grip that adds to the Align lineup, new grips (MCC Plus 4 and Tour Velvet 360) that have Arccos sensors built into the butt end, and a new Tour SNSR grip shape that has less curve on the top portion of the grip.  The grips will launch on March 1, according to Golf Pride.  Lynx Golf’s interchangeable driver face Lynx Golf was displaying a number of new products for 2019, but the highlight is its new Prowler VT that has an interchangeable face. Using SFT, or “Switch Face Technology,â€� Lynx’s new driver has a removable face that’s attached using screws. Between different lofts and face angles, the Prowler driver has 25 different face options, according to Lynx.  The drivers displayed in two colorways – orange/black and silver/black – and they come with one face; additional faces will be available at an upcharge. The drivers are expected to go into production in March and sell for $525, according to the company.  Fling Golf This wouldn’t be a proper PGA Show highlight story without at least one outlandish golf product. Fling Golf provides a twist on the traditional game of golf with “sticksâ€� that look like a hybrid between a golf club and a lacrosse stick. Instead of using them to hit a golf ball, Fling Golf sticks are mostly used by loading a golf ball into the head and throwing it … until it’s time to putt, at least. To play Fling Golf, participants need just one stick. They start at $109, and are available in three models; the Launch for beginners (short, medium and long lengths), the Stinger, and the “BallStick,â€� which measures 51 inches and is made for “tall or potentially crazy players,â€� according to the company.  Fling Golf says there are more than 15,000 golf courses that are “Fling Golf ready.â€� BUY EQUIPMENT HERE: PGA TOUR Superstore

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