A legend shares her wisdom at local U.S. Women’s Open qualifier

Much was made in golf-related social and traditional media a couple of weeks ago when the news broke that Juli Inkster—LPGA legend, multiple major winner, and three-time Solheim Cup captain—had entered the April 26th U.S. Women’s Open qualifying tournament at Half Moon Bay Golf Links.

Juli Inkster watches the flight of her tee shot at the par-four 8th hole of the Half Moon Bay Golf Links Old Course in the second round of a qualifying tournament for the 2021 USGA U.S. Women’s Open. (photo by Gary K. McCormick)

A Bay Area local, Inkster grew up in Santa Cruz, played college golf at San Jose State University, and lives in Los Altos Hills with her husband, Brian, who is the Director of Golf at Los Altos Golf and Country Club. Since home is just 40 minutes down the Peninsula from the Olympic Club in San Francisco, where the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open will be held in early June, she decided to take a shot at qualifying for the event. 

“I’m probably an idiot for trying,” said 60-year-old Inkster, “but I think I would be disappointed in myself if I didn’t because it’s so close to home.”

She hasn’t played in a U.S. Women’s Open since 2015, when she finished T15 after four consecutive missed cuts in the event, but has two victories in the tournament to her credit, in 1999 and 2002, as well as four other top 10 finishes since 1988.

Inkster was by far the, uh, most experienced player in the field at the Half Moon Bay qualifier, and was paired with two of the youngest players in the event: Kiara Romero, a 15-year-old high school freshman from San Jose who was the 2019 – 2020 Junior Tour of Northern California Girls’ Player of the Year; and 16-year-old Harper Clementz of San Francisco, a sophomore at San Francisco University High School and a Junior Merit member at the Olympic Club who aspires to a career as a NASA Flight Director.

Thirty-six holes of golf on a challenging and hilly course like the Old Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links is a real test, and Juli was very encouraging to her two young playing partners throughout the long day. The holes at the Old Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links, a 1973 Arnold Palmer and Francis Duane design, are a banquet of uneven lies, strategic bunkering, and subtly contoured greens. Add to that mixture the fatigue of a long day—36 holes of golf with (as it turned out) only 15 minutes between rounds, the changing conditions that necessarily accompany a day of golf that stretches from an 8:20 a.m. tee time to nearly 6:30 p.m.—and even golfers with twice the experience of Kiara Romero and Harper Clementz will find the going tough.

Throughout the day Inkster was welcoming and encouraging to her two young playing partners, congratulating them on good shots (of which there were many) even as she concentrated on her own game. At the end of her round the girls took pictures with Juli, and Harper showed her a signed glove that she had brought with her – a glove that Juli gave her at the 2015 ANA Inspiration, which Harper’s parents took her to see when she was just getting into the game.

Unfortunately there was no fairytale ending to the day. Inkster finished 11 strokes out of a qualifying spot (three qualified out of a field of 73), and Kiara Romero, who possesses a swing that is so long and fluid that it begs to be set to music, actually bested her by three stokes—all in the final round. I’m sure that both Harper and Kiara will carry memories of this day with them throughout their lives in golf.

The gold medalist on the day was Benicia’s Kathleen Scavo, who recently concluded her college golf career at the University of Oregon and has embarked on a professional golf career, playing on the Symetra Tour. Second and third places, respectively, were claimed by Kelly Tan, an LPGA player originally from Malaysia, and another Bay Area native, Lucy Li, who won this qualifying event in 2014, when she became the youngest player to have ever qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open.

Cheap knockoff of PuttOUT putting trainer doesn’t pass the smell test

UPDATE, 4/27/2021: After I informed the “customer service representative” that I was unable to delete the review because I am obligated to post reviews on products which I receive through the Vine program, they asked if I would, for the same compensation previously offered, change it to five stars. Unbelieveable…

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UPDATE, 4/26/2021: One week after posting a review of this item on Amazon, and this article, I received an e-mail message from a “customer service representative” at the company which manufactures and markets this product. I was offered a $50 Amazon gift card or a direct payment in the same amount if I would delete my negative review.

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It is almost a given, in today’s world, that a successful product will be counterfeited and cheap knockoffs sold—sometimes through legitimate outlets—by parasitic quick-buck manufacturers. I ran across one such item recently, on Amazon.com: a Made-In-China knockoff of the popular PuttOUT trainer called the Amolabe Pressure Trainer.

Side-by-side visual comparison of my well-used and slightly grimy
original PuttOUT (left), and the Amolabe knockoff copy (right).

Maybe you have seen my review of the PuttOUT device, which I received as a Christmas gift three years ago (after giving it pride of place on my wish list…). I have used my PuttOUT almost daily since I got it—especially in the last year, when my home office has been my full-time daily workspace—and it has definitely improved my putting; for proof I offer my four one-putt and eleven two-putt greens at Pebble Beach in U.S. Open knick at the pre-event USGA Preview Day for the 2019 Open.

As for how I came into possession of an example of this knockoff copy of the PutOUT: I am a member of a product review program on Amazon.com called Amazon Vine. Vine members can choose products of all sorts from a list posted on the website, and receive those products at no cost (sort of…*) in exchange for posting a review on the site. I am always on the lookout for golf-related products in the Amazon Vine list, and have obtained and reviewed quite a few over the last several years; about a week ago I spotted the item that is the subject of this post.

Like so many of the products that are sold on Amazon.com, the Amolabe Pressure Trainer is a cheap, Chinese-made knockoff of an original product that was conceived, designed, and developed by someone else—usually a Western manufacturer. Though closely reverse-engineered to perform much like the original, the build quality, fit, and finish of the Amolabe copy are poor—not to mention that this product represents outright intellectual theft of the design and development work that went into the original PuttOUT.

The material from which it is made is noticeably different from the original PuttOUT, particularly the portion which comprises the target and base, which is made of a slightly softer material than is used on the original device; as a result, this vital piece is readily deformed, and does not hold its shape well. In addition, the fit between the stiffer plastic ramp portion of the device and the target/base is rather poor, in particular the fit of the Micro-Target, a hinged piece that allows the user to reveal a hole in the ramp where a ball rolled with “perfect” pace and alignment will come to rest.

The Amolabe device performed similarly to the PuttOUT, but I noticed that the leading edge of the target portion, if not made to lie flat against the surface, would slightly deflect the ball as it crossed it. The contours of the ramp, which are so vital to the rollback feedback performance of the PuttOUT that makes it unique, appear to be very close to those of the original, but it would take very sophisticated measurement equipment to determine how close.

The bottom line is that the Amolabe device performs… adequately, and maybe $8.99 for this counterfeit looks better to you than the $39.99 purchase price of the now-upgraded original PuttOUT. What your purchase decision comes down to is whether you prefer to support the dedicated, diligent people who design, develop, and produce original products, or line the pockets of Amazon’s multi-billionaire owner Jeff Bezos and some unknown Chinese factory owner.

I opt for the former. 

Shame on Amazon for carrying this product on their website.

* (The advertised value of products chosen is toted up over the year, and if the total hits the IRS’ $600 threshold a 1099 form is issued, and the Vine member is responsible for taxes on the total value of products obtained through the program.)