MAKE SOME NOISE

Bubba encourages spectators at the Ryder Cup to yell, shout and scream during his tee shots.
Let's ditch the quiet please boards at all golf tournaments.
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GR SPIRAL BALL FIRST ATTEMPT

This was our first attempt to print 360 degrees our new spiral pattern golf ball.
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RYDER CUP FASHION 2012

The standard golfing combo of comfy slacks and bonny sweater has not changed for years.
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GAGA

Lady Gaga wears Vivienne Westwood's Climate Revolution shirt straight off the runway at London Fashion Week.
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ROCKING HORSE GOLF SHOE

Rocking Horse Golf Shoe - £470 by the great Vivienne Westwood.
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THE LIVER BIRDS

Just returned from a very enjoyable final day at Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the Ricoh British Women’s Open. Yes it was wet’n windy, but the course looked great and to watch the best women golfers tackle Hoylake in those conditions was a real treat.

Organisers tried to continue the theme of a ‘British summer of sport’ with appearances from Olympic medallist and Liverpudlian Beth Tweddle who performed cartwheels with Scottish golfer Carly Booth. And a once in a life time opportunity for golf stars to have their picture taken with the Queen sitting on her majestic throne.

As a Golf Refugee, I made a few wrong turns. Accidentally followed one of the marshals onto the course and ended up alongside the fairway, inside the ropes on the 8th hole. Ooops.

A near miss from an errant tee shot by golfer Hee-Won Han on the tricky par 3, 6th, straight into the stiff breeze. Many golfers under-clubbed here, this particular tee shot narrowly missed my woolly beanie covered head. I asked her Australian-sounding caddie which club she used, he replied "it doesn’t really matter; she hit it crap". Unfortunately for Han she also hit a poor chip shot onto the green and proceeded to smash her lob wedge into the ground in anger. Personally I don’t mind seeing this. Some players can bottle-up their frustrations others have to let it out.

I spent a few holes watching a couple of big hitters in the form of US teenage sensation Lexi Thompson and England’s statuesque Florentyna Parker. Two of the longest drivers on the tour. With modest spectator crowds, you could get up-close and even smell the perfume. Fortunately my stalker t-shirt was well hidden under various jumpers and water-proofs.

You can’t talk about women’s golf without mentioning the dominant Korean players. Why are they so good? Well, to me, they all seem to be great putters and have exceptional short games. Assassin's from 120 yards. But what the heck do I know. They are obviously doing something right and producing a generation of very talented young female golfers. Which begs the question are the R&A and British golf courses attitudes towards women golfers welcoming enough?

I managed to have a sneaky chat with a Korean players after the final round near the scoring tent, by shouting her name like an overzealous fan to grab her attention. We only had a few moments to share a couple of hand shakes and words before she headed off to her hotel for a night out in Liverpool.

Who knows, you may even see her wearing a Golf Refugees hand-dyed organic polo shirt at a future British Women's Open.

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RICOH BRITISH WOMEN'S OPEN 2012

From the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
'All you need is lovely socks'.
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HELP PERSUADE DR MARTENS

We are trying to persuade Dr Martens to work with us to create a golf shoe based upon their iconic British designs.
They still make hand-made shoes in their UK factory located in Northampton.
I used to wear DM's in art college. Found them incredibly comfortable on the long walk back home through the streets of Coventry after a heavy night in the students union bar.
Here is a pic of my black Dr Martens, with a modified sole enabling me to screw-in a set of soft spikes for golf.
If you think it's a good idea, please let Dr Martens and / or Golf Refugees know.
Would you wear a pair of Dr Martens golf shoes?
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DON'T TELL ANYONE.

How do you make a polyester based golf tour polo shirt moisture-wicking?

Simply add the following;

diethylene glycol, methanol, formaldehyde, propylene glycol, isotridecanol ethoxylate, ammonia and naphtha petroleum hydro-treated heavy.
But don't tell anyone.

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RORY FAN

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FROM A TO B TO C.

The picture on the right is of our test rig and wind tunnel model in black.

On the left is a close-up of the swept aerofoil hosel viewed from the heel of the golf club head. A white wash has been applied as one method to analyse air flow patterns.

If you believe the top point 'A' is further forward than bottom point 'B' on this picture of a golf club head featuring an aerofoil hosel. Then Golf Refugees back in 2005 / 06 at Cranfield University UK, designed, built and proved via wind tunnel testing the increased aerodynamic efficiency of a 'swept aerofoil hosel' for a golf club head several years before Callaway Golf's 2012 US Patent.

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BUSY IN CHINA

In 2010, China’s textile industry processed 41.3 million tons of fiber and accounted for 52-54 percent of the world’s total production.
The Chinese textile industry creates about 3 billion tons of soot each year. Millions of tons of unused fabric at Chinese mills go to waste each year when dyed the wrong colour.
A single mill in China can use 200 tons of water for each ton of fabric it dyes; many rivers run with the colours of the season as the untreated toxic dyes wash off from mills.
In 2010, the textile industry ranked third overall in Chinese industry for waste water discharge at 2.5 billion tons of waste water per year.
The textile industry discharges about 300,600 tons of carbon dioxide and contributes to 8.2 percent of carbon dioxide pollution in China.
As of February 20th, 2012, the China Pollution Map Database had 6,000 records of textile factories violating environmental regulations, including: discharging waste water from hidden pipes; discharging untreated pollutants; improper use of waste water treatment facilities; exceeding total pollutant discharge allowed; and using production facilities that were shut down by the authorities for various reasons.
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