Publisher’s Picks

Heated Clothing
Mobile Warming Gear

One of the items that caught my attention at this year’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida, this past January, was a light weight, heated wind jacket. Traditionally targetted to the outdoor sports market that include snowboarding, skiing, fishing, motorsports, hunting, and all other outdoor activities where you need to stay warm, Mobile Warming Gear decided to add golf to that list.

Now, I am not a cold weather golfer. In fact, I am not a fan of playing golf in temperatures that fall below 55 degrees (I’ll only play in the upper 50’s if it’s sunny and the wind isn’t blowing). However, I know there are a lot of golfers that will play golf throughout the winter season as long as there is no snow on the ground and the golf course in open for play. If you are one of these people, then this garment might be just what you are looking for.

Mobile Warming Gear sent me a sample of their heated jacket this past February that I wanted to try out and if I thought it was something of value for our readers, to write about it for this issue of Publisher’s Picks since there would be enough time for you to purchase it prior to the cold weather this coming winter. I actually wanted to try the heated vest but I received the jacket instead. In full disclosure, I did not try the garment out on the golf course. I did, however, wear the heated jacket on a number of occasions in an attempt to mimic the amount of clothing I would have worn, had I been playing golf, to determine whether if would be of value to golfers for winter play.

The first thing I looked for was whether this heated jacket would reduce the bulkiness of the undergarments I would usually wear when playing in colder temperatures. Typically, I would wear an undershirt, a thermal undershirt, a mock or regular turtleneck, a thin vest sweater, and perhaps a light weight windbreaker. My goal would be to reduce the amount of bulkiness on my arms while trying to keep my body as warm as possible.

With the heated jacket, I was able to reduce a couple of heavy layers by eliminating the need for a thermal undershirt and sweater vest while staying very warm.

The jacket has three heating panels on the front and back of the jacket. In order for the jacket to work effectively, the panels have to be snug to your body since they heat up and will not warm you if they are not resting on you. Therefore, you want to wear a size that does not permit you to have enough room to wear a sweater or something similar underneath. The garment comes with a Rechargeable 7V 2.2Ah Li-Ion Battery that can provide you with up to 10 hours of warmth depending on your heat setting. Made of lightweight Windshark® 4-way stretch, waterproof, breathable windproof fabric, I put the heated jacket through the test of swinging a golf club to ensure it would not hinder my swing nor feel uncomfortable in the process. The jacket felt like I was wearing a rain/wind jacket but without the bulkiness from additional clothing you would expect to wear underneath on a cold day. It actually felt pretty good. I wish the manufacturer had sent me the vest, which is what I preferred, so I could have worn it underneath a very light weight windbreaker. However, the jacket seemed to enable me to accomplish what I wanted to achieve: to wear in 35/40 degrees weather what I would typically wear in 50 degrees. The Battery Heated Softshell Heated Jacket does the trick.

The Battery Heated Softshell Heated Jacket retails for $199.99 while the Battery Heated Softshell Heated Vest retails for $159.99 and are available on their website, mobilewarminggear.com.

PLAY GOLF FOR LESS
Tee Time Golf Pass

No one needs to tell you how expensive golf can be, especially for the avid golfer. Even if you played twice a week at a county golf course, you could be paying as much as $80 a week!
The common statement that golfers, who have been using the Tee Time Golf Pass, say is, “Tee Time Golf Pass will pay for itself after the second time you use it.” I have not used nor tried the Tee Time Golf Pass. But, I have known a number of golfers who have and they swear by it. In fact, they do not begin their golf season until they have purchased a current edition for their area.

According to Tee Time Golf Pass, there are 218 golf courses who participate in the Northeast edition; there are 113 free greens fees at 56 courses; 78% of the courses that participate offer weekend discounts; and, there are additional Specials for seniors.

Here’s how it works: Purchase the passbook online and when you receive it in the mail, you call and make a tee time just like normal and then tell them that you are a Tee Time Golf Pass member. You then bring it with you to the course when you go to check in, show them your passbook and they will accept the offer for their course that is listed in the book. No need to cut out coupons. The course will just check off one of the boxes next to their offer. Offers can be valid from 1X to 4X up to 10X or even Unlimited usage, depending on the golf course.

Tee Time Golf Pass will provide readers of Great Golf Magazine with a 15% discount on your purchase for your 2014 Tee Time Golf Pass by using the code, GGM14 at check out. Sounds like a great gift idea for your favorite golfers for the Holiday Season!

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