The Journey To Scratch: What A Year It Has Been…

Wow, I can’t believe that Christmas has come (and now gone) in 2016. It seems like yesterday that I dusted off the clubs in the garage and started playing again with Dad “once a month” to start spending some time with him again. Fast forward a year, and it’s been a crazy ride. In fact, my game has come a long way from the 85 that I shot a year ago on a semi-flooded Riverbend Golf Course, and so has my bag.



As the year began, or ended as the case may be, I was playing my almost vintage Ping S59 tour blades that were in dire need of a new set of grips. OF course, at that time, I had only wanted to sneak out a few times during the summer, so why sink a bunch of money into grips and gear, right? I was playing 10 year old balls (Nike One Gold) and a bag with a stand held on by zip ties. It was time to take a long look at what I was going to do when all of the sudden, it hit me – refinish the Staffs. So after 2 rounds with the Pings, they were retired to the garage to make way for my long time gamers, my 1989 Wilson Staff Fluid Feel Irons.

 

With some paint filling being done and some new grips being thrown on, my Staffs performed like new and took over in my bag in April. I pounded out a four rounds in the next month with them before realizing that age was catching up with them. The pitching wedge was rusted out at the grip end and the 6 iron was cut a 1/4” short. They would make it once in a while for play, but if I was going to play as much as I did in the spring, they were going to need some serious repair done to them. At $30 a shaft for the True Temper Dynamic Gold and another chunk of change is supplies to do it, I started shopping used sets that were in playable condition. What I ended up finding is still amazing to me.

In June, a glistening set of Wilson Staff FG-49 Tour Blades straight from the UK became my weapon of choice and my handicap destroyer. The true “zero offset” ultra-thin tour blades played like nothing I’d ever experienced. They made my Fluid Feels feel like cavity backs, but with the ability to work the ball in every direction, hit it at any height and spin even cheap balls off the green, the 49’s fit my game like a glove. They were also a pretty special set of clubs, I’d say, one of a kind, but that might be a slight exaggeration. Of course, my love for the FG-49’s quickly waivered when I began to think about competitions for next season, and the 2014 ruling of club faces, grooves and goodies that the USGA & R&A had implemented. I guess I picked the wrong time to walk away from the game and come back.



The rule spelled things out as clear as a bell for me and I was going to need to get one more upgrade in my bag (or ship off my gamers to have them approved for play) in order to make my move to play in the USGA Mid-Amateur qualifier in 2017. At the end of August, just in time for the fall weather to destroy my shortened come back season, a beautiful box of Wilson Staff FG Tour 100 blades arrived and immediately went into my bag. In the months that followed, my handicap fell from the high single digits to the low of 2.9 that is it right now. One or two more solid rounds to open the season, and I should have it easily under the 1.9 rating needed for a run at the US Open Qualifier. Right now, it’s still sitting very strong for the 3.9 or less needed for the USGA Mid-Amateur. The rest of my bag is rounded out by Wilson PMP wedges in 51, 56 and 60 degree lofts, a Wilson Infinite Grant Park Putter and a Wilson FG Tour F5 driver with a Fujikura Speeder 757 Tour Spec X Stiff Shaft. I tweak the loft on the driver based on the playing conditions, but currently for the wetter months, I have it dialed in at 9.5 degrees.

The 2017 season will be here before we know it, I mean The Masters is only 100 days away! Let’s see how the early season shapes up and see if I can continue my downward move to becoming a scratch golfer when the posting season opens for the WSGA.

Blog Babble: A Good Lotion Can Make A Big Difference

When the weather turns cold but you still venture out to the course for that Saturday morning round, the dry winter air will make your face freeze and your skin dry out in just a few holes. While you can always go warm up later and inhale a few gallons of water to help remedy the situation, preventing it is an even better way to enjoy your round of winter golf. Just like sunscreen in the summer months, a good moisturizer is a must to carry in the bag for those frosty days in the fall and winter. There are plenty of options out there, but staying with a natural solution like this one, from Plant Therapy, is perfect for most bags.

A perfect blend of tea tree and evening primrose oils protects your skin from outside irritants and locks moisture into the skin. This keeps your skin softer and reduces dryness in even the toughest conditions. To maximize your protection, you can apply the lotion to any area where your skin will exposed to the elements during your round. From there, apply to your face again before teeing off. Make sure to bring a spare towel to dry your hands on as the lotion will take some time to absorb, and swinging a club with slick hands will never result in a good shot. From there, Reapply the lotion as needed throughout the round to keep your skin in top shape. Don’t forget to rub the excess into your hands, which are also exposed throughout the round as well.

Taking care of your skin during the winter is just as important as taking care of it during the summer months. Using a quality lotion will only cost you a few dollars a month, but the damage that your skin can endure during a round of golf can last much, much longer. Be safe and use a good lotion during the winter and a great sunscreen during the summer.

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The Journey To Scratch: My Practice Time Has Been Derailed By Snowmaggeddon

So, I’ve been a bit quite on the blog front this week, but for a good reason. Snowmaggedon 2016 has hit the Seattle area. What started out as some possible snow showers early in the week has turned into a three day ground freeze that was just too much fun not to go out and play in. From the snowball fights to the 18th miniature snowman being built, it’s been a fun few days.



Yes, the golf game is on the back burner for a few more days, I’m sure, but it’s all worth it when you get to a smile on a face like this. Not only was she excited about the snow, but I think the first two days of it has had me having as much fun as she did. Anyways, given that this is Seattle, I think it will probably be all gone by the end of the weekend, which means right back to things shortly after that. Now, I need to get that chipping mat ordered so I can still practice in this stuff if it happens to come back again this year.

Stroke Saver: Simple Ways To Improve Your Game Without Swinging

Probably the most common question I have been asked over the last few weeks is how can someone improve their game over the winter when there’s no access for either playing or swinging. My response is usually the same, if there’s no where to swing, work on the parts of your game that you have room for. Starting with addressing the ball, work on your routine. Place a ball or a coin down on the floor. You only need enough room to address the ball for this, so even the smallest spaces should be able to accommodate for this. Practice aligning yourself to the “target” along with the clubface. Getting into a repetitive cycle will make it all that much easier to do when the weather breaks and you back in action. To make this drill even more effective, use some dowels, clubs or alignment sticks to really work on setting up straight.

Putting is also a huge one to work on during the winter. Even if you don’t have ‘room’ to putt, work on aligning yourself and the putter face to the target line. You’d be amazed how just working on the aim of your putter will improve your scores come springtime. If you have room, complete the stroke and work on a consistent arc – unless you are one of those people that swings the club dead straight, in which case, you’re working on making a straight path. Either way, getting in 25-50 strokes a day will be more beneficial than you think.

Finally, there’s the fitness piece. Most golfers spend all spring working out the kinks they have gotten while sitting around during the winter months. As strange as it sounds, some simple stretches, body rotations and ‘fake swings’ without holding a club will do wonders to keep your muscles engaged over the winter. Practice your swing without a club to find out what muscles you need to keep in shape, then select a few exercises that will work those groups. It will just take a few minutes a day, but you’ll reap the long term benefits by not needing the first month of the season to get back into playing form.

Stroke Saver: Save The Gear Money For Lessons Instead

It’s the holidays and everyone on the planet is trying to sell you a club that will lower your score. If not a club, then a set of clubs. The ads are everywhere with splashy terms and high tech names that will deliver amazing performance and blow your current sticks out of the water. The big question, how much better can you shoot and how many stroke can you save with new clubs?

For me, I’ve played tour blade style clubs since the beginning of time. My very first set of Northwestern Concords were a blade design, though a very cheaply made one, and I shot plenty of scores in the low 80s with them before the faces wore off and an upgrade was needed. That upgrade was my first set of Wilson Staff Fluid Feel Blades. Those clubs remained in my bag for next 15 years and never left it. I then made a short swing into the Ping S59 tour blades before flipping back to my Staff blades when I came back. 20 years later, my clubs were still shooting the mid 70’s and looking great.

Since coming back this year, I’ve upgraded twice, once to a used set of FG49 tour blades (it was time to reshaft my beloved Fluid Feels, but the cost was a bit more than I wanted to spend) and then to the FG Tour 100’s when I found out that both sets I had would have to be sent to the USGA to have them approved for competition. The 100’s fixed all three issues very quickly – they were new, did not need work and were already approved for competition. It was a perfect match. Honestly though, the play almost identical to my original Fluid Feel irons from 1989. Still, over the years, I have tried just about every gimmick, technological break through and new style of club that has come onto the market and never found anything that I hit any better than these old style tour blades.

It’s not that the tech can’t help some people hit the ball better, but the honest truth is that most people USE their new clubs more to make their investment make sense to them. In other words, if you go drop $2000 on a new setup, you’re going to go to the range more and play more rounds with them to make that seem like a great price. Truth be told, you could probably get better scores from taking the $2000 and putting it into a season’s worth of lessons with your older gear. There are definitely some tech breakthroughs that can be seen from a set that is a few years older, but if you put your hard earned money into your swing, rather than the equipment your swinging, you’ll see much better results.

Budget Beater: Black Friday Fairway Finds

GAME GOLF Live Tracking System ($109.99 – save $190.00) - Winner of a 2016 Golf Digest Editor's Choice Award for 'BEST GAME ANALYZER', GAME GOLF LIVE is the world's first automatic, real-time shot tracker for iPhone, Android and Smartwatch platforms. Track your on course performance and view every shot you hit instantly on your phone to pinpoint where your strengths and weaknesses lie. See how far you hit every club in the bag and monitor your tendencies off the tee and on approach. Compete for bragging rights with friends and challenge other golfers around the world to earn prizes and accolades.



Bushnell Pro X7 Golf Laser Rangefinder with JOLT ($319.99 – save $120.00) - The most powerful Laser Rangefinder in the world. The Pro X7 features incredible ranging capability (550+ yards to a flag). The Pro X7 is accurate to 1/2 yard. Features 7x magnification with HD optics. The Pro X7 is waterproof and tour certified.

Designed exclusively with the bottom of the cup in mind, this mode allows easy acquisition of the flag without inadvertently capturing background target distances. When more than one object is acquired, the closer of the two objects is shown on the LCD display. JOLT Technology eliminates all doubt by delivering short vibrating bursts to reinforce the laser has locked onto the flag. Use what the Pros use, feel the exact distance. FEEL THE JOLT.



M-Tracer MT500GII Golf Swing Analyzer ($129.97 – save $70.02) - Endorsed by world renowned golf instructor David Leadbetter, the M-Tracer golf swing analyzer helps you make positive changes to your game by providing instant access to swing data via a mobile app. This highly-accurate tool gives you a complete 360-degree view of your swing and provides insights that are invisible to the naked eye. The lightweight M-Tracer fastens to most clubs (putters excluded) and recalibrates with every swing. You get critical swing metrics you need to improve your game. But don’t take our word for it. Listen to Leadbetter: 'M-Tracer offers game-changing information — data you couldn’t get by just videotaping.'

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Equipment Review: Is The Snell My Tour Ball Really A Tour Ball?

When I first learned of Snell golf, I was intrigued to say the least. Any company with the heritage of Snell’s, is obviously going to make a quality product. The question that comes along anytime that a golf company uses the word “Tour” in their product name, is if it really is something that a tour player would use? First, take a quick look at who Snell Golf is, and that question should be answered. Then, take a look at what that person has accomplished, and the answer to that question is a resounding, yep. So, without needing to question the pedigree of the Snell My Tour Ball or MTB, let’s take a look at the performance of the ball.



Starting out, the Snell MTB is a three piece ball that is designed to give you top performance from tee to green. The low compression core give the ball a softer feel while providing a lower spin rate for longer drives. The “outer” inner layer, also called the mantle, works with longer shots on controlling the spin rate for better accuracy. It teams with a thermoset cast urethane cover to react with more spin on wedges and greater control around the green. Overall, the Snell MTB seems like it is making a run straight at the big boys of the industry, but it’s doing so from a $31.99 a dozen price point. That’s about 35% lower than the tour caliber balls from those “more well known” manufacturers.



Fortunately, reading about it on the internet is one thing, but getting the Snell MTB on the course is another. Being someone that is a fan of huge distance, higher spin into the green and that squishy feel when putting, I couldn’t wait for my dozen to arrive to take for a spin. Finally, after a few days wait, my balls arrived and I was off for a round with them. I played them side by side for a few holes with my standard Wilson Zip ball, and I can honestly tell you that the Snell MTB was a good 5 yards longer than the Zip. I was also getting a bit more spin on them, but nothing noticeable when compared to the lower cost ball off my wedges. Putting, however, was where the difference really came out. The Zip has an ionomer blend cover that has way more ‘click’ to it off the putter face than the Snell MTB did. The Snell MTB reminded me of hitting my older balata balls off the old brass Bullseye putters. It just felt right.

Scarier than the nostalgic feeling that putting delivered was the consistency in putts. There were no hot spot putts like I had experienced with the Zips, nor were there any soft spots either. I spent about 2 minutes putting with it on the first green before I had my distances dialed in and was ready to fly around the course. The 15 putts on the front side (including two that lipped out that should have dropped) was my best putting performance for quite some time. I blame this ball for that. It’s easy to say that the Snell MTB is definitely one of those balls that you should consider trying if you are in the market for a new ball for 2017.

Of course, there are some drawbacks to using the Snell MTB. First, there’s the availability thing… Snell sells direct, which means going online is one of the only ways to get these guys in your bag is to order them online. Amazon has the Snell MTB for $31.99 + $6.99 shipping. If you order direct from Snell Golf, you can get them for the same $31.99 but shipping is free. They also have a value pack with 6 dozen for $157.99 – or $26.33 per dozen. The 6 pack is a great way to go if you are looking to stock up on them, but you might want to order a single dozen to start out with just to see how they work for your game. I was pleasantly surprised by the Snell MTB, and I think you will be as well.

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