The Final Countdown

And yes, queue the cheesy music that you still hear in rinks across this country.

In less than a week I'll be in the air on an eight-day golf equipment Odyssey. A couple days in Texas at Nike golf's research and development facility "The Oven" will be followed up by the balance of the week spent at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida. With all that to look forward to I'm scrambling this week to prepare myself.

The golf equipment landscape is much different these days versus the crazy days of the 1990s. At that time the PGA show reached its frenzied peak of more than 1500 exhibitors. The reality of both the size of the golf market and the current state of the US economy has reigned this back now to about a thousand but it still makes it the golf event of the year for anyone in the industry.

I don't expect to see a lot of unfamiliar items at this year's show; many have already been revealed by the major manufacturers in an attempt to draw early attention to their 2010 product lines. Oh, there will be more than a few reveals, but the show is becoming less about a product showcase and more of a central exchange of information as the industry prepares for the season ahead.

I will attempt to get a few posts up here during my travels but it is such a crazy time that the balance of stories may not appear until after my return. Do watch for some updates at flagstick.com and for a live play-by-play you can always follow our Twitter.

If there is anything exciting I will be sure to share, after all I am an equipment geek and the PGA Show week is like my adult Christmas.

Being able to add in a couple days at "The Oven", Nike's secret club creating lair, just makes it extra fun. I even get to play a round with a full line-up of Nike's new gear; I'll be sure to provide a review on that.

Talk to you soon from golf equipment heaven.

Daily Notes:

Ryan Palmer won the Sony Open in Hawaii playing a mix of TaylorMade, Titleist, and Odyssey Equipment. The 33-year-old has had his Odyssey Rossie II putter since college. He has tried others but this one has brought him three PGA Tour wins. Not a bad return for a club that cost him just over $100.