Author: Sean Ogle

I’ve been reviewing golf shoes for a long time here at Breaking Eighty. But as much as I hate to say it, it’s been years since I’ve tried a pair of Adidas Golf shoes. We’re talking like, nearly a decade. Yet, I’ve received comments like this numerous times in regards to my list of “best golf shoes”: “No list of best golf shoes is complete without Adidas. They’re fantastic.” Hearing that for long enough, I had no other choice but to pay attention. Recently I was able to get a few pairs of Adidas shoes to check out, and unsurprisingly, I haven’t…

I’ve been to dozens of golf clubs over the years. Every single one of them has something that makes them unique. Whether it’s the culture, the golf, the amenities, or the people. But after spending 3 days at Kohanaiki Club in Kona on the big island of Hawai’i, I’ve never been to a club that does all of these things so well. Kohanaiki is all the best parts of a 5-star luxury resort, while being completely private for its members. The amenities it provides are unparalleled. And somehow, I impressed someone enough to get an invite to come out and…

This Nikon Coolshot Pro II Stabilized review was updated in August 2023 to provide long term feedback, update pricing, and compare to the most recent golf rangefinders on the market. Honestly, I’ve reviewed a ton of rangefinders on this site, and when it comes to top-of-the-line rangefinders, it’s been all Bushnell. Precision Pro has been making headway, but when it comes to the best of the best in terms of optics and ease of use, Bushnell is king. That said, it seems Nikon may have something to say about that. Yeah, that Nikon. The one that makes cameras. I recently…

Golf balls today are expensive. Like, really expensive. A premium ball — something in the class of a Titelist Pro V1 or TaylorMade TP5 — is gonna set you back as much as $55 per dozen. That’s more than $4.50 per ball! And you know what? I, for one, am tired of losing these precious little nuggets. Which is why, despite whatever stigma you want to assign, I’m not sleeping on golf ball retrievers. When you consider that for something in the neighborhood of $35, you can get a quality, functional, portable, discreet golf ball retriever, why wouldn’t you consider…

Three years ago I decided to get more serious about my sleep health. I ended up investing in the Ooler Sleep System by Sleep.Me, and I’ve used it every night I’ve been at home since. Overall, it’s been a good experience. Sure it never quite got as cold as I wanted it to, there’s been some reliability issues, and it’s a little louder than I’d prefer – but it did a pretty good job of helping aid my sleep. Over the last few months, I’ve seen more and more people talking about the Eight Sleep Pod 3 system. I’ve been…

Updated in August 2023 to give feedback on performance in the rain and add the Sun Mountain Colter Vest. For years I’ve used a Gore-Tex Galvin Green rain jacket for my wet rounds on the course, and overall it’s been great. The problem with Galvin Green however is that not only is it very expensive, but the European fit, may not be the best fit for your body. This is especially true if you don’t consider yourself a very athletic person. My rain jacket has been going on 6 years now, so the time has come to try something else. The…

I’ve always really liked Stitch golf products. Their SL2 golf bag is one of the best-looking bags on the market. You could say the same about their accessories and apparel as well. But it’s been a while since I’ve tested out anything new from Stitch. The SL2 is largely the same as it was a couple years ago, and with so many other products coming to market, I haven’t seen much from the brand lately. But then I found out about the Birdie Bag – and got really intrigued. 7 or 8 years ago, golf was my life. All my…

When it comes to golf rangefinders, it’s rare that I see something that’s entirely different than anything on the market. But that’s exactly what you get with the Voice Caddie SL3 rangefinder. We’ve seen GPS “Smart Rangefinders” before. On the lower end, there was the ill-fated Precision Pro R1. Then there’s the most high-tech rangefinder out there, the Garmin Approach Z82. The SL3 is aiming squarely at the latter. It has many of the same high-tech features as the Garmin, but it takes a bit of a different approach. Rather than building all of it’s GPS data into the viewfinder…

Of all the rounds of golf I played on my first Wisconsin/Michigan road trip, the River Course at Blackwolf Run was arguably the one I was most excited for. I feel like I’ve said that about many of the courses, but when every course you’re playing is rated highly, it gets tough not to be excited. What I knew about the River Course was that it was scenic, difficult, and has some incredibly fun shots. I’m far from the world’s best golfer, so for me, scenery and fun are of paramount importance. After getting a sense of what the course…

While golf architect Rees Jones may be best known for his renovation work as the “Open Doctor” he’s had a number of high-profile designs of his own over the years. I’ve played a handful of them. There’s the extremely-private and challenging Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton. The over-the-top engineering marvel that is Cascata outside Las Vegas. Or one my personal favorites of recent memory, the Oconee Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee. But what happens when you give such an experienced architect some of the best oceanfront land possible, and say “build me something special.” You get Kohanaiki, which might just…