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A group of doctors writing in the British Medical Journal have claimed that repeated use of titanium drivers can damage the hearing of golfers.

Here’s an excerpt from the BBC:

Ear specialists suspect the “sonic boom” the metal club head makes when it strikes the ball damaged the hearing of a 55-year-old golfer they treated.

They outline the details of this case in the British Medical Journal.

The man had been playing with a King Cobra LD titanium club three times a week for 18 months and commented that the noise of the club hitting the ball was “like a gun going off”.

It had become so unpleasant that he decided to ditch the club, but by this time he had already suffered some hearing loss.

Doctors at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital carried out tests on the keen golfer after he attended their clinic with unexplained tinnitus and reduced hearing in his right ear.

The tests confirmed that his hearing problems were typical of those seen with exposure to loud noises.

In tests of six drivers, the researchers found that the Ping G10 was the worst offender, creating a 130 decibel bang.

The researchers also suggested that players use earplugs when playing.

I don’t even know where to begin with this story. When I first read it, I had to check to see if the dateline read April 1. But they apparently are at least semi-serious.

Still it doesn’t make any sense. A driver just can’t be loud enough to do that sort of damage—especially as the sound is dissipated in the open air. Just for comparison’s sake, the 130 decibel Ping driver would be nearly as loud as a jet engine at 100 feet (140 db) and is louder than a pneumatic riveter at 4 feet (125dB), a rock concert (115dB) and a snowmobile (100dB). Physical pain is caused by sounds over 125dB, so that Ping might cause players to flinch every time they swing—which can’t possibly be good for driver accuracy.

It’s only a matter of time before someone calls for golfers to wear helmets because people have been seriously injured when they were hit, or safety glasses because a tee popped up and scratched a retina.

When I read the story to the thirteen-year-old Thing One, he pointed out another problem with this story. Wearing earplugs on the course would only create an additional hazard, since you wouldn’t be able to hear someone shout FORE! to warn you of an incoming ball. Smart kid.

Nike SQ Dymo STR80-FIT Driver

Nike promises a game changer with its new SQ Dymo Str 8 Fit Drivers.

The driver has an adjustable widget on the hosel which allows a player to change the face and lie angles in eight different positions simply by turning a torque wrench.

Like the TaylorMade clubs with the adjustable weighting, this is an interesting idea in that it allows players to adjust their drivers to fit their games as needed. While you could certainly go to a professional clubfitter to get a driver that suits your game, that won’t help if your swing changes throughout the season. I know for a fact that I have a different swing in the spring than I do in the fall. Adjustable clubs allow me to tweak as I go along.

The original Sumo was gaudy not particularly attractive. The new version has the color scheme toned down and comes in both a square and round shape.

Ping iWi Series 1/2 Craz-e Putter

Putter designs just get stranger and stranger.

The Globe and Mail offers an interesting Canadian perspective on the golf slowdown.

2009 promises to be dismal for a golf industry in Canada already hurting after poor summer weather this past season.

“Golf courses will be forced to change what they’re doing,” says Barry Forth, general manager of Copetown Woods Golf Club outside Hamilton. “They can’t be expecting people to pay full price to play golf in four and a half hours any more.”

Canadians are among the world’s most avid golfers, with about 21.5 per cent playing at least once a year and spending about $13-billion on the game, according to a 2006 Ipsos-Reid study conducted for the Royal Canadian Golf Association.

But participation is highest among men over 50, an age bracket whose retirement funds have tumbled right along with the stock market.

“The prime demographic for golf courses has been really clobbered,” said David Pratt, a real estate agent specializing in golf course properties.

A growing aversion to pricey golf memberships is evident at online golf forums, where “people are selling their memberships valued at 80K, and asking about 25 or 30K for them,” Mr. Pratt said.

It’s hard to believe, but the PGA Tour kicks off the 2009 season this week with the Mercedes Championship.

It’s a good tournament to begin the season. Held at the Kapalua Resort on Maui, it features only winners from the previous season. That’s a strong field. Tiger won’t be there, but in the field are Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Trevor Immelman, Anthony Kim, Davis Love, Geoff Ogilvy, and Camilo Villegas, among others.

The good news is that the Tournament is on in prime time on the East Coast: 6:00 to 10:30 p.m. The bad news is that it’s on The Golf Channel ...