ESPN Golf

"Look at those spoiled bastards. They don't know the value of a dollar."

That was Gene Sarazen, commenting on tour pros dropping new balls rather than searching for ones hit astray during practice rounds for Shell's "Wonderful World of Golf" series.

Although Sarazen's comment was made some 40 years ago, it underscores the fact that when it comes to balls, clubs and apparel, tour players are a pampered bunch. Need a new driver or wedge? No problem. A new putter? Heck, the practice green at most tour stops looks like an Edwin Watts store -- without the checkout lines. And when players arrive at their lockers for the week, they find anywhere between four and six gloves and a like amount of golf balls -- in dozens -- waiting. As such, it's not often a tour player needs to reach for his or her wallet for equipment.

It does happen, though. Lee Janzen, for example, arrived at Tiburon GC in Naples, Fla., for the 2002 Franklin Templeton Shootout only to find his locker devoid of golf balls. Unfazed, the two-time U.S. Open champion went to the pro shop, whipped out his credit card and purchased a dozen Titleist Pro V1s to get him through the event. It proved a sound purchase as Janzen and his partner, Rocco Mediate, won by a stroke.

Janzen, however, isn't the only PGA Tour player to find himself a few sleeves short. Prior to the first round of the 2003 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Pat Perez discovered he had left all eight dozen of his Nike TA2 golf balls in his car. With the vehicle too far away to retrieve the balls and still make his tee time, Perez dispatched his caddie to the pro shop where he bought three sleeves of Nike's DD balls (the TA2 was not available at retail yet). The purchase set Perez back $57, but hey, they did have the Pebble Beach logo on them. Perez shot 69, using just one sleeve. Asked what he did with the other two, Perez said, "We returned them."

Someone a little more supportive of the host clubs' professionals is Dana Quigley. Although the last club the Champions Tour iron man bought with his own dough was an Odyssey White Hot putter for $80 from an Edwin Watts store in West Palm Beach, Fla., in the winter of 2002, Quigley has made numerous purchases at courses hosting Champions Tour events. "I buy shirts all the time," said Quigley, a longtime club pro before joining the Champions Tour. "Two of them -- one for me, one for my son, Devon -- at almost every tour stop. I like 'em, and I know the pros can use the business."

Sometimes the transaction isn't as simple as making a selection and paying the person behind the shop's counter. Sometimes it takes a little more doing.

Winners' bags

Stephen Ames Ball: Nike One Gold Driver: Nike Ignite 410, 8.5 degrees 3-wood: Nike T-60, 15 degrees Irons (2-PW): Nike Pro Combo Wedges: Nike Pro Combo (55 degrees); Nike Forged (60 degrees) Putter: MacGregor Bobby Grace M-1 Meg Mallon Ball: Callaway HX Tour Driver: Cleveland Launcher 460, 10.5 degrees Strong 4-wood: Callaway Steelhead Plus 7-wood: Callaway Steelhead III 11-wood: Callaway Steelhead III Irons (4-PW): Cleveland TA1 Form Forged Wedges: Ping MB (52 degrees); Cleveland 588 Gunmetal (60 degrees) Putter: Odyssey Dual Force Rossie Jim Thorpe Ball: Callaway HX Tour Driver: Callaway ERC Fusion, 7.5 degrees Strong 4-wood: Callaway Steelhead III Strong 5-wood: Callaway Big Bertha Irons (3-PW): Callaway Hawk Eye VFT Wedges: Callaway Steelhead X-14 (56 degrees); Callaway Hawk Eye VFT (60 degrees) Putter: Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Blade

At the end of last season, Champions Tour player Tom Jenkins couldn't find any more of his favorite wedges -- the Cleveland 691 "U stamp" models in 55 and 58 degree lofts. So Jenkins did what any savvy consumer would do: He went online. "I did an eBay search and [still] couldn't find any," Jenkins said. "But I went back a week later, and there they were." Buying from several sellers at about $15 each, Jenkins stocked up, buying eight of the 58-degree wedges and five of the 55-degree models.

Although Jenkins didn't know his sellers, others have had cozier relationships with their vendors. Chad Campbell bought a Titleist driver from his father last year, and David Gossett used a Scotty Cameron putter at Westchester that he acquired from a friend who is a club pro -- a rare equipment purchase for Gossett. "I've never had to buy equipment," Gossett said. "On tour and in college, I got my clubs for free. And when I was in high school my parents bought them for me."

Wendy Ward didn't quite enjoy the freebies Gossett did, but it has still been a while since she paid for her clubs. Asked the last piece of equipment she paid for, Ward, a nine-year LPGA Tour veteran, said, "A Tommy Armour 845 driver and a set of irons my freshman year in college."

Juli Inkster also had to stretch her memory for an answer. "My own money? Let me think," said Inkster. "How about the last time I stole golf equipment?" Finally the six-time major champion remembered she had bought her brother a set of TaylorMade irons seven years ago.

For Doug Tewell, however, the memory of his last equipment purchase came more easily -- perhaps because it was so memorable. After opening the 2003 Charles Schwab Championship at Sonoma (Calif.) GC with rounds of 74, 69 and 72, Tewell was in the market for a new flat stick. "I was putting so bad I went in the pro shop after the third round and bought an Odyssey Tri-Hot putter," Tewell said. "It was a good $75 investment because I went out the next day and shot a 65." Good investment indeed. Tewell's hot final round jumped him to a T-16 finish, earning him a $47,500 payday.

And perhaps some knowledge about the value of a dollar.

Equipment scoop from the tours:

The Ping Anser putter Hilary Lunke used so deftly in winning last year's U.S. Women's Open was back in the bag at The Orchards GC. The putter, given to her by her father when she was 13, had been sent to the sidelines because Lunke said it was too light and left the ball short on slow greens. But aside from The Orchards' slick putting surfaces, Lunke also was looking for a little good karma. "I saw Retief Goosen switch back to his old putter and win the Open," she said. "I thought maybe that was a sign." Not quite. The defending champion finished T-64.

"It's taking some time to get used to," says Tiger of his new 410cc Nike Ignite driver.

After steadfastly sticking with drivers featuring steel shafts and smaller clubheads than those being played by most tour players, Tiger Woods went large at the Cialis Western Open, using a 410cc Nike Ignite with a graphite shaft. Said Woods of the change, "I like it a lot. I'm hitting it much longer... [but] it's weird having a big head like that. You've got to hit the ball on a different part of the face with this bigger head, so it's taking some time to get used to." For the week Woods averaged 313.9 yards off the tee (ranked second) and hit 60.7 percent of his fairways (ranked T-48). His season ranks prior to the Western were sixth and 155th, respectively.

Woods wasn't the only player living large last week. Ping debuted its G2 driver on tour and found some takers. Among those using the 460cc club were Mark Hensby on the PGA Tour (finished T-3 at the Western) and Carin Koch (T-10) at the U.S. Women's Open.

For anyone wondering, those aren't graphite shafts in Nick Price's wedges. The three-time major winner paints the shafts of his wedges black to reduce glare from the steel.

There's gold in them thar golf balls: Stephen Ames won the Western Open (and $864,000) using a prototype version of Nike's One Gold golf ball.

Stuart Appleby's bag has some nice stitchwork on it. Under his name appears a bumble bee landing on a red apple. Apple-Bee ... get it? ... Frenchman Thomas Levet leaves no doubt what country he's from. Levet's C-Thru grips sport the word "France" underneath them.

Comfort zone: Christina Kim uses a set of Henry-Griffitts irons her dad, a former Henry-Griffitts clubfitter, gave her several years ago. "I mold my game to what's in my bag," said Kim. "There's a certain comfort to that."

Maxfli Revolution Tour

Maxfli's latest tour-caliber ball features a low-compression "Speedcore" designed to promote more distance off the driver while delivering a soft feel. The ball, which is designed specifically for above average swing speeds, also boasts a thin urethane cover to aid in shotmaking control. The ball (SRP: $40 a dozen) was used by Se Ri Pak when she won the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill earlier this year.

20

The number of weeks it had been since a Titleist ball was not used to win an event on one of the three major tours. None of last week's winners -- Stephen Ames (Nike), Meg Mallon (Callaway) and Jim Thorpe (Callaway) -- used a Titleist ball. The last time that happened was the week of Feb. 12-15 when John Daly used a Dunlop LoCo Pro at the Buick Invitational and Craig Stadler a Nike TA2 LNG to win the ACE Group Classic.

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