… Evidently we golfers are suckers for just about anything that involves golf. I always find this a fun category, because the number of insane products that are brought out every year and never to be heard from again is truly amazing. At past shows this was accomplished with scantily clad, attractive women handing out some literature or samples, although this years economy cut down on the “extravagances”. Yet there are always some products that actually serve a purpose and come in very handy on the golf course. Most of the time, it is such a simple idea I find myself wondering why nobody had thought of it already. This year is no exception as my "Best of PGA Show 09… Accessories" goes to the Amphibian Towel by Frogger.

… I have no accessories on my bag. Just clubs, headcovers on my woods and a mid sized plain white towel draped over my clubs (that may or may not have come from a hotel). I clean my grooves the old fashioned way, ½ wet towel and ½ dry. I play without a glove and it is imperative that I keep my grips dry, so I also use the wet half to keep my grips clean and dry them on the top half. Alas, I have lost more than my share of towels that just fell off my bag. I tried a golf towel that clipped onto my bag, but managed to get everything wet from my shirt to my shoes. Try leaning into a wet towel to grab something just as the cart girl arrives… it’s not a pretty picture. So the simple white towel that can be moved from side to side is far from a perfect solution, yet it is the best I have found. Until now, as I can proudly join the golf gadget geeks by adding the Frogger Amphibian Towel to my bag, because it solves every one of my problems.

… The Amphibian Towel looks very simple, but contains a ton of technology. It is actually two 28” X 14” towels in one, and about twice the surface area of a standard golf towel. Twice the area, because it is TWO towels sewn together with a waterproof membrane in between. This allows you to completely wet one side while the other stays dry. The inside of the towel is a semi rough terry cloth made with 100% bamboo which absorbs three times more water than cotton, while drying three times faster than cotton. Bamboo is also naturally anti-fungal and anti-microbial, so no dank smell. The outside is plush woven cotton and is used to dry your grips or clubhead. The inside stays wet, because it is not exposed to the sun or wind. Lemme try and explain the design. Picture two 28” x 14” towels on top of each other. Now take the length and fold them over, and you’re left with a 14” by 14” square that is folded in the middle. Take one side of these towels where they fold and sew them together. Then turn the towels in a diamond shape so the two sides that are attached are on the top, and the open sides are on the bottom. There is a carabineer attached to that top corner to hang the Amphibian Towel from your bag. There are also pull tabs hanging from the bottom corner so you don’t have to get your hands wet when you want to access the wet interior. On a sunny day you wet the absorbent interior of the Amphibian Towel and use the outside to dry. On a rainy day, you simply leave the interior dry and let the outside get wet from the rain using it to clean your clubs/grips, and use the inside to dry. You can even take your grip on the club inside the towel so it doesn’t get wet. Now, lets say you are gonna play 36 and it starts raining in the middle of your round. You simply turn the interior wet towel, inside out and reverse the wet/dry process. It comes in Red, Black and Blue to match just about any bag. Like I said initially, it is such a simple idea, I am surprised nobody ever thought of it. And at only $19.99 I think it qualifies as a genuine bargain.

… I have “character issues” concerning the second towel product from Frogger, but must admit I am quite intrigued. The Amphibian Ball Towel is a miniature version of the club towel but two 8” x 4” towels folded into a 4” square package. You can clip this to your bag or better yet, a belt loop on your pants and you will always have something to clean your ball with on the green. But here lies my trepidation. While I admit to having an occasional bad habit of licking my fingers to clean off my golf ball, exposing my mouth to goodness knows what kind of chemicals and future brain or body deformation, I am afraid I am heading down the geek golfer path of no return and will end up looking like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddy Shack. Where does it end? A (gulp) ball retriever!?!?!?!?!? Although at this point I freely admit, feeling a little nerdy sure trumps some disease I might pick up from absent mindedly licking my fingers, so I will give the Amphibian Ball Towel a shot.

… I think my “Best of PGA Show 09 … Accessories” Froggers Amphibian Towels are great products that don’t do anything fancy, but help keep your gear in its best playing condition. Something Jesper Parnevik’s caddy has discovered because he uses them on the PGA Tour. While I have nothing against huge Oems that have earned their right to be at the top of the food chain, I admit I am a sucker for good ole American Ingenuity. There is something to be said about a guy that comes up with a product, achieves some success, but still puts the long hours in his booth because nobody is as passionate or knowledgeable about their product as the owner. And that describes Jeremiah Bohannon, the only name you will see in the PGA Show Guide under Frogger. It was a pleasure meeting Jeremiah and having him explain the attributes of his Amphibian Towels. I’ll have one hanging from my bag in 09 and yes, I’ll also have an Amphibian Ball Towel hanging from my belt loop. After an April golf vacation in Phoenix I should have a good idea of just how well they both work on the course and I’ll post a follow up of my experience with them. Some of you may know Frogger from last years PGA Show when they launched their first successful product: The Frogger Brush Pro. The Frogger website is filled with info, so if you are interested click on the link below:

http://froggergolf.com/

Great review.

Even my non-golfing wife proclaimed, "That looks like a good idea.", when the ad came on the Golf Channel for the Amphibian Golf Towel.

As for the ball towel. Don't wear it.

ZBigStick, on Feb 16 2009, 04:23 PM, said:

... I know, I know.