Rob Rashell is playing his first season on the PGA Tour. Throughout his rookie year, Rashell will provide a frequent glimpse of what it's like to break into the Tour.

SAN DIEGO — Like a kid in a candy store, that would be one way to describe my enjoyment here. Although I didn’t play my best golf and missed the cut in the Buick Invitational, I feel like I’m making the right moves in improving all aspects of my game. Just as a carpenter needs the proper tools to build, or a surgeon needs a sharp knife, a golfer’s clubs are important to performing at the highest level in the world. To get the best available, I made a trip to the Titleist facility.

As many of you know, all of the major golf club manufacturing companies have their research and development centers somewhere in the greater San Diego area. Being a Titleist guy, I was excited about my Wednesday morning visit to their test facility. After playing for a week and a couple of practice rounds I wanted to look for a driver that might be better than the one I was playing. Also, I’ve had the same set of irons for over five years and felt I should investigate the possibility of a new set of irons.

The people at the test center could not have been more friendly or helpful. These people take a great deal of pride in what they do and I can’t imagine anyone else doing things any better.  I made the trip with my caddie Shane and his dad, and before we were two feet in the door we had to sign non-disclosure agreements concerning the entire facility. Because of that agreement — and to avoid a major lawsuit — I won’t be able to go into great detail about my trip. I will say that I feel confident now that I have or will have the best equipment available to me. I will also say that if you are an avid golfer and have the opportunity to go to one of these facilities in San Diego, go. They are awesome.

Rookie on Tour Return to Q-School Family, friends, fun Learning from Tiger Taking time off Practicing patience   Major highs, lows Open a thrill It's the driver Alligator ... yum! Clubs, car ready Raindelay by a nose Alternate anxiety Rain, rain go away Pebble amazing Home, sweet home Pro-Am popular Club changes Happy in Hawaii

One thing I have been very conscious of over the past year was my equipment. I had always promised myself that when I made it on a major tour I would just keep the same equipment and play out the year. Well, I think there are good things and bad things about this mentality.  The positive things would be comfort and familiarity, knowing what I had and knowing what I could do with what I had. The negative things would be the possibility that what I had was not performing as well as other equipment and I was giving away shots by not having the best in play.

Without a doubt the only thing that matters is the score on the card at the end of the day. In pursuit of the lowest possible score I’ve already made some changes. One of my coaches, Bill Meyer, gave me this analogy: “It's not hard jumping in a Porsche after you’ve been driving an old Volkswagen. The new car will be different, but will be fun and easy to get used to in a short period of time because it is such an improvement in technology and performance.”

I know that many amateur golfers around the world think the same way that I do — they want the best available. I agree that everyone should have the best equipment. A player should be very familiar with what they have. In the case of my equipment change, I will probably use my new irons and driver for the next four or five years. I’ll have backup sets made just in case and will then direct my efforts back to the practice tee. Learning my new equipment and how it performs. I’m excited about my new clubs and look forward to seeing how they perform on the course.

There's a couple of other fun PGA Tour perks I can share with you. After flying overnight from Hawaii into San Francisco, then getting a connector to San Diego, I gathered up my stuff from baggage claim and headed outside to the curb. Parked on the curb and waiting was a brand new Buick courtesy car with my name in the passenger side window.

“Good morning Mr. Rashell, let me help you with your bags.”

As I stood there with a goofy grin on my face all I could say was, “uhhhh … ok”.  Off we went to the tournament site and after a quick signature the car was mine for the week. Very cool.

Another great perk is the laptop computer. IBM has been generous enough to offer all PGA Tour players a brand new laptop computer. I went to a short orientation to learn the dos and don’ts of my computer and was sent on my way. The PGA Tour has a wonderful technology staff available to help us at any time with our computers or any other questions we may have. I am so thankful for all the great things we are given while at the same time I have to keep in mind the reason I’m here is to play great golf.

The challenge of competing against the best in the world each week has been fantastic and I continue to learn at a rapid pace. I’m excited for what the year has to offer and am very grateful for all of the kind people who volunteer their time each week to help us out. I’m off to the desert for the Bob Hope (Classic) and will sign off with one of my favorite lines.

Getting better every day …

2005 results     How Rob Rashell stacked up on the PGA Tour this year. He made six of 25 cuts and earned $84,391. — 11/3-11/6: Southern Farm Bureau Classic (70-70-69-69—278, -10, 44th-tie, $9,070) — 9/22-9/25: Texas Open (67-73—140, Even, cut) — 9/15-9/18: 84 Lumber Classic (71-76—147, +3, cut) — 9/8-9/11: Canadian Open (72-73—145, +5, cut) — 9/2-9/5: Deutsche Bank Championship (75-73—148, +6, cut) — 8/25-8/28: Buick Championship (73-69—142, +2, cut) — 8/18-8/21: Reno-Tahoe Open (77-77—154, +10, cut) — 7/21-7/24: U.S. Bank Championship (71-72—143, +3, cut) — 7/14-7/17: B.C. Open (74-70—144, Even, cut) — 7/7-7/10: John Deere Classic (72-72—144, +2, cut) — 6/30-7/3: Western Open (72-72—144, +2, cut) — 6/23-6/26: Barclays Classic (75-73—148, +6, cut) — 6/16-6/19: U.S. Open (74-72-73-74—293, +13, 42th-tie, $26,223) — 5/26-5/29: St. Jude Classic (73-68-69-71—281, +1, 39th-tie, $20,090) — 4/28-5/1: Zurich Classic (74-73—147, +3, cut) — 4/21-24: Houston Open (78-73—151, +7, cut) — 3/31-4/3: BellSouth Classic (79-73—152, +8, cut) — 3/10-3/13: Honda Classic (73-68-76-70—287, -1, 58th-tie, $12,100) — 2/24-2/27: Chrysler Classic (71-68-71-75—285, -3, 64th-tie, $6,300) — 2/17-2/20: Nissan Open (73-72—145, +3, cut) — 2/10-2/13: Pebble Beach Pro-Am (72-75-73—220, +4, cut) — 2/3-2/6: FBR Open (77-74—151, +9, cut) — 1/26-1/30: Bob Hope Classic (66-76-73-72—287, -1, cut) — 1/20-1/23: Buick Invitational (73-72—145, +1, cut) — 1/13-1/16: Sony Open (73-67-74-69—283, +3, 56th-tie, $10,608)

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