Blog Babble: Sometimes You Just Need A Weekend Off

Unless you fall in to the category of independently wealthy or you live alone, every so often, you need to take a break from the game and head out for a weekend with the family. If you haven’t experienced “golf overload” yet, it’s a rather special feeling of spending entirely too much time looking at, talking about and trying to play golf. When your social media feeds have more photos of courses than your kids (or things you are doing with your kids) then you are probably due for a weekend away with them – even if you are independently wealthy. That doesn’t mean you can’t make that stay-cation into a golf excursion as well, but make sure you take some time to get away from the game every once in a while, even if it’s just a weekend.

Being a player in the Pacific Northwest, we get a forced vacation from the game a few times a year, usually in the winter and spring, but even our fall season can get a bit wet during October and November. Our season actually sets up quite nicely here in Washington, as we normally have good enough conditions to play all year around, but not conditions that would make you want to go out and play all year around. January is usually cold and clear, as is February. March rains a bit more and April is a bit nicer. May is usually wet and in June the courses really start to become playable. July and August are usually the best months to play here, then September and October usually round out the season before the colder weather of November and December roll around. If it’s a dry winter though, you may have a few frost delays with your round, but our lack of lowland snow usually keeps courses playable. This is why it’s so easy to take a weekend away here, but it may not prove so easily where you are.

Even so, taking that weekend off will do a number of things for your game, most of them positive. First off, most athletes are used to the old, “When I miss a shot, I want the ball back as quick as I can get it to make the next one.” With basketball, that’s great, but with golf, sometimes you need a bit of a break to reset mentally and get your head game back together. When you have that bad round, you start to get so many different thoughts racing through your head that you forget your basics and start tinkering with things that don’t need to be tinkered with. After a month of tinkering, your game is in worse shape than ever. Instead of just taking a weekend away to relax and unwind, you end up trashing your next 10 rounds by overthinking things. Mental note: take time off…

Overthinking your round, or even the shot you have in front of you can be deadly to your game. If you just relax and trust your swing it will usually be there. That includes after a week away from the game to take the family to some crazy place they’ve always wanted to go. The bottom line is a weekend away won’t harm your game, in fact, it may help it immensely. Sometimes the one thing you need to get out of a swing or scoring funk is to just step away for a few minutes before you step back in and try to fix something. Most of the time, it’s our brains getting in the way. We tend to get caught up in thinking about what we should be doing, instead of just doing it.

Stroke Saver: Improve Your Game With The PGA YouTube Channel

Golf lessons used to be expensive. If you needed a pro to fix you up, it meant a trip to the local driving range where a golf professional would take a look at your swing for 15 minutes, tell you that your swing plane was messed up, that your path was moving from outside to inside and that your aim was off. They would toss a broom handle or shaft down by your toes and point it at a target. They’d then use a few tees to make sure your path stayed straight and you would leave that $50-100 lesson feeling better about your game. Come Saturday morning though, your slice was back and you were hacking your way to a 97 from the trees. You’d then go back to your pro the next week saying that you felt how good your swing was last week and that your round went pretty well.
Well, that was yester-year. Today, there’s no expensive trips to the range or hundreds of dollars of gear to purchase to get your swing in shape. Thanks to the PGA Digital Golf Academy, you can cover anything from putting tips to playing that draw right from the palm of your hand. Heck, there’s even videos on rulings and situations on the course that you may never encounter. After donating the time of a few morning workouts to the channel, I believe that the selection of honest PGA Professionals that are giving advice on this channel are spot on.

The topics cover everything from putting techniques to understanding how bounce works on a wedge, there’s a video for almost every topic on the planet and more are being added all the time. Even better, many of the videos or segments are around 5-10 minutes, which doesn’t mean you stand around for an hour getting a theory explained to you. If you’re struggling with something, simply open the channel, search the videos and find what you need.
Now this isn’t supposed to replace your swing doctor for major issues, but when you have a glitch in your swing, it’s a great place to start. The PGA Digital Golf Academy does carry a $4.99 a month subscription rate to access their entire library, but for all the content that is available for free (you can tell by looking for a $ symbol on the video listing) it’s easy to find the help you’ll need to fix that part of your game that needs some attention.

Equipment Deals: Balls, Blips And Berthas

If you are in the mood to try a new ball or are already in love the Srixon Q Star, there is a deal to be had at $19.99 a dozen on these bad boys right now. The Q Star features a proprietary surface coating that encourages more spin and greater control, but handles the worst punishment that your swing can dole out. The E.G.G. core enhances feel and control while stabilizing ball speeds. The Q Star s available for $!9.99 a dozen right now. That’s a 20% savings over regular pricing.

Training aids are always a gamble in my book, but if you really need that feedback on your swing, there’s no need to spend $100 a pop on a swing analysis. You can simply put the Zepp 3D Swing Analyzer on your glove and download the App for your phone and swing away. The 3-D tracking module allows you to compare your swing to tour pros, your friends and even yourself. The Zepp Sensor works with Android and iOS devices and is on sale for 33% off it’s regular price. The $99.99 price tag is about what you will spend for once good session on a swing machine, so give it a chance if you are a numbers freak. At least you can play games with it as well.

I’m not sure how killer this deal is since I am not a fairway wood fan, but Dick’s still has these listed at almost $250 a piece. Depending on the loft and if you play righty or lefty, there are some great sub $100 prices on the Callaway Big Bertha Fairway Woods. Visit the link in the sentence before this one to see if the style you want is there and if the price is good enough for you to jump on. For example, currently the stiff shaft, 15 degree 3 wood is only $98.58. The $150 you save could make this club a must have for your bag.

Remember, these deals are subject to change at any time and are while supplies last!

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Equipment Deals: Save On Select Callaway Golf Products

Amazon has quite a special going on Callaway golf products today. From the Big Bertha Alpha 815 driver for $149,99 to the 300 series rangefinder for 32% off the original price. There are also a number of great apparel specials and some great practice equipment deals as well. With prices like these from Amazon, you owe it to yourself to swing by online and check out the specials before they are gone.

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Budget Beater: Save On Low Compression Balls That Really Perform

In my golfing comeback, the one area that I haven’t tinkered with up until now was the ball that I have been playing. I took a stab at one hole with a Titleist Pro V1x, but it wasn’t the feel that I was looking for. My trusty Nike One Gold (2005) were still finding a home in my bag and will probably stay there until I run out of them. Of course, now that I am down to a dozen or so, that won’t take too long since the covers don’t seem to last quite as long as they should when you spin them off a bladed iron like I do. So, that left me starting the process of looking for a replacement to them in my last round. I managed to pick up a few of the low compression offerings from Wilson golf and take them for a spin on my last round.
I started off the front nine with the Wilson Zip, which carries a sub $20 price tag for 24 balls. The “zero” compression core and 302 dimple pattern created a very nice ball flight, even in the breezy conditions that I faced on Sunday. What struck me on my first 3 iron from the tee is how soft the ball felt off the club head. For a feel player, sometimes soft is bad, but these had a feel reminiscent of the old balata balls that I played back in the early 90’s. The only way I can describe it is that they have a click on contact, followed by a soft, squish feel to them. After an opening par, I was feeling that the Zip was a ball to be reckoned with.
The back nine I switched things up to the Wilson Duo, and it’s larger 29 compression core. This two piece ball also had an amazing flight, though it felt like it went higher on my 7-PW than my older balls. I lost a few shots to the wind with the Duo, but it still performed very well for me. The $19.99 a dozen price tag puts them at twice the cost of the Zip, but the higher trajectory may be more beneficial for calm days on the course. I was able to spin the regular version of the Duo extremely well, in fact, so well that I doubt I would try upgrading to the Duo Spin model. The slightly higher cost Duo Spin offers a higher spin rate due to a three piece construction and it’s ionomer outer cover. Still, at $26.99 a dozen, the Duo Spin is about half the price of other premium balls on the market.
Overall, I have to give the nod to the Wilson Duo and the Wilson Zip, but for different reasons. The Wilson Zip gets my vote for performance vs. cost. At $.83 a ball, the Zip is a steal in modern day deals. The lower ball flight and soft click feel was a pleasure to chase around the front side of the course. The Wilson Duo is for the more competitive player that wants that extra bit of stick on the green. At $1.66 a ball, they are about 58% less than a Titleist Pro V1x, yet they played about the same distance and had similar spin characteristics heading into the green. I did see more height from the Wilson Duo, which in windy conditions could create some havoc, but for days like that, I would recommend keeping a sleeve of Zips in the bag. Both of these value balls play more similar to a high end ball than the value balls that I have played in the past. Either way, the Wilson Duo or the Wilson Zip will provide you with a great ball striking experience for very little out of pocket.

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Blog Babble: Why I Hate NBC And The Golf Channel

I don’t normally like to vent on stupid things that I find online, but this is one of those things that continues to frustrate me to no end. There I am clicking through my social media feeds and I run across an ad for the LPGA Volvik Championship streaming online coverage. I’m thinking that it would be a great way to spend the afternoon and click the supplied link, only to find this above screen shot on the landing page. Yes, the Tweet says click here to watch our live coverage that begins now, but doesn’t make any reference to needing a subscription from your cable company to watch.

So, annoying as this is, it’s even worse to think that it is something that they couldn’t support with advertising. How many more viewers would they get to watching those Titleist ads, or Ping popups or even those FootJoy footer. I remember a time before the multi-billion dollar TV deals existed and you could watch a few hours of golf on a Thursday afternoon without having to spend $100 a month on a special channel.

Maybe that’s just the whiner in me coming out, but seriously, this game is expensive enough to play all by itself. Can’t you good folks at the TV networks just show a darn feed on the internet that is loaded with ads for all the stuff we want to put in our bag for free? Now, I’m going to go search out a free stream of the feed online or watch an older tournament on YouTube to get my fix for the day.

Stroke Saver: Putt To The Cup On Long Putts

Too often I see players that can hit their tee shots dead perfect every time to the center of the fairway. They play target golf to the green, usually hitting that high fade that just snuggles into the green when it hits the putting surface. Then they get up and 3 putt for a bogey and move along. Even after they work so hard on their game, they score no better than the guy that rifles his drive into the trees, punches out, blades a 7 iron right of the green, dribbles his chip to the edge of the green and makes a brilliant put to save bogey. It makes me sad for them, and for me when it happens. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Mastering the mid-to-long range putt isn’t a difficult task, in fact, it can be pretty easy if you know what your goal is. The first issue is most people look at long puts as a “lag putt” or a putt to just “get it close” so they don’t three put the green. Unfortunately, this usually doesn’t work out so well for them and they end up three putting the green anyways. It seems to me that the people that have the best luck with those 40 foot putts are the ones that are trying to make them, not get them close. Think of it as a drive or a fairway approach. If you have a spot in the fairway without trouble, you get aggressive and go for the shot. On a green that has nothing to challenge your approach, you shoot at the stick. On a putt with nothing between you and the hole, you need to go for the hole.

Going after a 30 or 40 foot put does not mean you have to be aggressive. A slower paced, methodical stroke is often the best way to putt a ball, period. Whether you are standing over a 2 footer or a 20 footer. the center of the cup needs to be your target. Stop putting yourself in the mental trap of “getting it close” or just get it inside 3 feet on those longer putts. If you try to make everything, you may end up with a three putt here or there, but you’ll probably find your putting numbers improve quickly and you have far fewer three puts from longer distances.

Equipment Deals: Golfsmith Specials For May 23, 2016

I am really happy to officially welcome Golfsmith to the affiliate links that help sponsor this blog. Golfsmith has long been one of my favorite sources for club repair and assembly materials. In fact, when I was in high school, I built about 100 sets of clubs from Golfsmith and repaired countless others using their tools and components. To show my support of them and their affiliate program, I will try and offer a weekly specials report every Monday, when they are available. You can also follow me at @waazzupppp on Twitter for daily deals and such.

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Playing A Round: Riverbend Golf Course, Kent, WA

Image: 16th green at Riverbend Golf Complex (18 hole) in Kent, WA.

Knowing that June was going to be a very busy month for me, I wanted to try and sneak in one more round before the holiday weekend next weekend and Riverbend was the course of choice for the week. I have to admit the first shocker of the day was the sticker shock as rates had increased $8 over the week before. Normally, I wouldn’t have an issue with the “summer rate” increase like this, but when the course isn’t in summer playing shape, it’s not exactly good form in my book to charge for it. That said, at $42, Riverbend was still in good enough shape to save me writing a nasty-gram to the City of Kent over the increase. I will say this to them though, please fill the bunkers and get a morning groomer out there prior to the 8:00 tee times going out. With rates over $40, it’s the least you could do for us out there.

Now moving on to the round. This week we played from the blues, which really tested my “3 iron from the tee” theory. The first hole lengthens out to 347 yards from the blues, which meant having to strike a pretty firm 3 iron from the tee. Starting out of the blocks, I managed to knock one 252 down the right side of the fairway with a little draw. It was a perfect start leaving me about 95 yards to the front pin. A perfect sand wedge landed softly on the green and set up an easy 2 putt for par. The second hole was playing 425 and the breeze was definitely helping to defend it. The trees to the left and right make this hole a bit more challenging when you are pulling out a driver. I ended up left on the drive, leaving a pretty near impossible, downhill, 165 yard, hooking  8 iron to the green. After making perfect contact, the ball didn’t shoot off the downhill slope to the right like I thought it would and it hit square in the tree. A perfectly done punch 3 iron to the front of the green saved me and I escaped the hole with a bogey. My driver experience on the second hole shaped my thoughts for the 3rd, and once again, I clipped the tree line with my 3 iron out of the blocks. A quick 3 iron down the fairway and a 5 iron just short of the green left me lying 4 with a pitch and a putt to finish the rather easy hole. After three, I was two over.

The 4th was another hole that adds just enough distance to make me rethink my 3 iron from the tee once again. Of course, given the first two shots I’d really hit with it for the day, I figured a 230-250 yard tee shot would still leave me something manageable on the 422 yard, par 4. I managed to bash a 260 yard shot out to the right center of the fairway and followed that with before landing a 9 iron just short of the green. A quick lob wedge to the green before lipping out a putt landed me a 5. The 5th played 130 on Sunday, which is just under a full PW for me. I knocked it to the back of the green before 3 putting for bogey. The 6th hole played more friendly for me today as well, a great driver off the tree found the right fairway bunker. A 7 iron out left me about 205 to the flag. My 5 iron settled just behind the green for a lob shot and two putts. The 6 was hard fought on that hole, but it was better than the past few rounds.

Image: Ball on the green at the Par 3, 7th.

The 7th doesn’t play very long, regardless of the tees you select, so the 3 iron from the tee was the obvious choice. Playing just 314, I hit it 230 dead center and had only a lob wedge in. Hitting the center of the green and 2 putting out left me with a par. The 8th was also a bit more of a challenge from the blues, but the 190 yard hole location was a perfect 6 iron for me.  In fact, I parted my tee ball about 7 feet from the hole. After lipping out the putt, I managed to escape with a par. The 9th hole reared it’s ugly teeth with a side breeze moving across the hole. My 3 iron found the left bunker from the tee, which left me a 9 iron in. I caught it a bit thick and had to pitch on with my lob wedge. 2 putts later, the front side was complete and I was 5 over par.

Moving to the back side, I rocketed a 3 iron off the 10th tee to the right center of the fairway. With 150 in, I left a 9 iron just short of the green. A lob wedge and 2 putts later and the hole was done. We moved across the river to the 11th with a similar result. A great 3 iron from the tee, but my 160 yard 8 iron was caught by the wind and landed in the front bunker. A sand wedge from the terrible bunker had me flipping a lob wedge back to the green before one putting to save my bogey. The 12th yielded similar results as the wind continued to play havoc with my higher trajectory shots. After a good 3 iron down the middle of the fairway, I left a sand wedge short of the green. A quick lob on and 2 putts later, my first three holes of the back had me pinned at 3 over.

Image: Ball checked up on the green at Riverbend Golf Course.

Moving along to the par 3, 13th, my beautiful 135 yard pitching wedge was again caught by the wind and dropped just short right of the green. a pitch on and 2 putts later my bogey streak was intact. With the wind moving from left to right off the tee, the par 5, 14th had no issues to contend with, except for the right fairway bunker. I pulled the driver to take it down the left side of the fairway, but something went very wrong with that swing. The ball sailed off an open club face at about a 20 degree angle to the right, and it continued to move that way in the wind. It settled in the pond on 12, where I had to drop lying two. I placed a 3 iron through the gap between 12 and 14 before hitting a 140 yard wedge over the 100 foot tree and landing it softly on the back of the green. Getting the Wilson Staff Zip and Duo to stick to the greens was no problem at all and this was another example of how easy it was to hit these balls with a bit of spin. I tapped in my second putt for a 6, even with the water penalty.

The par 4, 15th was playing quite a bit longer than the week before. The 413 yard hole stretched my 3 iron about as far as possible off the tee. After going slightly left with my tee shot, I caught my 8 iron heavy and left myself a bit of a pitch in. A lob wedge and 2 putts later, my bogey streak continued. The par 3 16th was also playing a bit more difficult with the swirling winds. A 7 iron made short work of the hole as I landed it softly on the back edge. After running my first putt about 8 feet past the hole on the downhill slope, I lipped out my second to tap in for another bogey.

The 17th yielded my first par of the back side. I beautiful 3 iron left me a pitching wedge that landed on the left side of the green. A quick two put finished out the hole. The 18th was nothing short of brutal today. A strong wind was blowing from right to left, which set up perfectly for me to draw another 3 iron off the tee. Unfortunately, I managed to hit is a bit better than normal and carry through the 240 yard landing zone. At the same time, the wind died down and the ball carried into the water at the right edge of the fairway. A drop (and some fun trying to clear the water from that location) and a 3 iron down to the 150 marker. A 9 iron took me the rest of the way to the hole before a two putt ended my round with my 8th bogey for a 44 and a final total of 85.

My round wasn’t nearly as strong as I had hoped for, but I’m really starting to dial in clubs from 150 in. By the time the ‘real season’ hits, in July or August, I should be able to drop those scores right back into the 70’s where I want to be. I saw plenty of opportunities to shave about  5-6 strokes off this round with just a few shots going differently and maybe a bit less wind. I have a 2 iron arriving next week to start working off the tees a bit more and I will keep plugging away with the wedges to get a bit more accurate with those. Overall, my game is shaping up nicely for summer and I haven’t had any capital expenses at all this season.

Budget Beater: Don’t Try To Pay More To Score Better

Grabbing some new gear to make the ball go farther, won’t help. Grabbing new irons to hit closer approach shots won’t either. Getting a new putter that feels perfect in hand might help a bit, but in all honesty, it’s not going to make that big of difference. Yes, I’m addressing the biggest myth in golf right here, right now – getting new gear will not help you score better than what you have in your bag right now. In fact, I see a disturbing trend just about any time I go to the course or the range. I can gain another ______ if I just get one of those.
It’s a trend that every golfer wants to believe, but there’s just zero truth to it. Sure, technology has come a long, long ways over the years, but honestly, there is more to perfecting your swing than there is to technology helping you along. Take a great comparison between Tiger Woods in 2009 and Jack Nicklaus in 1968. You would probably expect to see a huge numbers difference in favor of Tiger, but in reality, the numbers are scary close.
In 1968, Nicklaus used a 10.5 degree persimmon driver with a 42.75” stiff steel shaft. Woods used a 10.5 degree titanium driver that was 170cc larger than Nicklaus’ and featured the latest Mitsubishi Diamana Graphite shaft. Nicklaus averaged 276 yards with his driver, while Woods pushed his out over 298 yards. Still, Nicklaus hit 3% more fairways than Woods and 11% more greens in regulation while only dropping one putt per round to Woods. This is 40 years of technology that translated to just over 1 stroke per round difference between these two golfing legends.
So, when you think that adding 15 yards to your drive with that new $400 driver or grabbing those new irons for $1000 will lower your scores, keep in mind that Nicklaus was hitting wood-woods and forged carbon irons back in the day just as well as Tiger was hitting his latest generation clubs in his prime. It’s far more important to work on your swing than it is to change your equipment to fit someone else’s version of your swing. It’s also much easier on the pocket book.
Stat comparison posted at http://www.franklygolf.com/whoisthebettergolfertigerorjack.aspx

Blog Babble: Another Open, Another Tiger Sighting

Yes, we’re here again. About a month out from another major tournament on the PGA tour and all the talk is about Tiger Woods and if he will be in the US Open and if he has a chance to win. Most people are doubting the first, and even Vegas doesn’t give him much of a chance on the second. Of course, the bigger question is, why does anyone care? My reaction to the situation is probably in the minority, but honestly, he was the greatest golfer to ever play the game. There, I said it. He dominated a professional sport for 10 years and it didn’t matter who was behind him. He just kept going and going. There was no second place. There was nothing but winning.
His personal issues aside, the change in Tiger came in 2006, notice how close that date is to his last major in 2008? In May, his leader, his grounding rod, left him to fend for himself. His father’s passing left Tiger struggling to be Tiger. Rumors followed from his swing coach about him wanting to become a Navy SEAL instead of a golfer. More rumors about how he didn’t care about Jack’s major record or Snead’s total victory record. That’s just not the Tiger we wanted to see. He went on a fitness program that may or may not have destroyed his golf swing. Then the rest of his personal life fell apart. His world imploded and it was all his doing, but for those 10+ years, Tiger was the greatest closer in the world.
Even still, that fateful day in May of 2006 changed him forever. The fairways at Bethpage were easy enough for him to handle, but not being able to hug his father was too much. Having lost my Mother, I can identify with his loss, though probably not quite as much since Earl played such a key role in Tiger’s professional life as well. Instead of rooting for or against Tiger to make a comeback, the real story should be about can Tiger achieve peace within himself long enough to heal mentally from everything that has happened. Tiger would be out in these interviews with a fire in his eyes, an anger in the pit of his stomach and the desire to put Speith, Day and anyone else that stood against him in the corner and beat them by 10 strokes. Instead, we have a calmer, more gentler, Eldrick that is just taking the time he needs to get back to 100%.
Here’s some news, Eldrick will never be Tiger Woods.

Equipment Deal: Grab A Cobra King Driver Get A Free Arccos Driver Performance Tracker

While I’m the first one to say, “You can’t buy a better golf game,” there is always a temptation to get a new driver that will gain you a club or two on your approach shot. If you’re one of those players and you’ve been eyeing a the new Cobra King driver, Edwin Watts Golf has a deal for you. When you purchase a new Cobra King LTD, LTD Pro, F6+. F6 or F6+ Pro driver, you’ll receive a free Arccos Driver Performance Tracker. The King driver lines include a Textreme Carbon Fiber Crown, a forged 8-1-1 Titanium E9 zone, the MyFly8 face technology with SmartPad and their next generation TOP technology.

The Arccos Performance Tracker is a pretty simple item that links to your smartphone to track your driving swings throughout your round. It’s the perfect tool to see how well your swing is making that new driver work. It also features some fun games that you and your Arccos toting friends can play together to get a few more dollars switching hands during your rounds together.

Starting at $349.99, there is a Cobra King for just about every swing out there. I recommend doing a bit of homework on which one will fit you best at you local golf store or driving range before jumping in, but remember this great deal with the free Arccos tracker won’t last, so make the move quick if you’ve been thinking about getting one.

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Stroke Saver: There’s An App For That

When I was a junior in high school, I had the amazing opportunity to work at a local golf shop. It taught me the basics of club making, repair and best of all, gave me access to a complete swing analysis machine. This was back in the early 90’s, which meant that the data was more like what you might see in a vintage video game, but it did let me know how fast I was swinging and the face angle at impact. Today, all of that simplistic measuring won’t tell you much, but there is some serious help for those that want to get a better look at their swings right in the palm of their hands.

The above screen capture is from the Android App, SwingAid. SwingAid allows you to either shoot a video in the App or import one from your session. With a few taps, you can mark the swing planes for both your backswing and impact. You can take things a step further by marking your spine angle, head position and just about anything else you would like inside the App. After you line out your setup, you can start the video and run it at various speeds to see where your swing plane is drifting or if your spine angle is causing your inconsistencies in your contact point.

The wealth of knowledge that these “freemium” Apps can give the average golfer is amazing. If you have an Android phone, you can download SwingAid by clicking the link below. Apple iPhone users can check out V1 Pro for a great experience as well. By using Apps like these to make your swing more consistent and repeatable, you should see your scores start falling without spending a dime.

Apple: V1 Pro

Android:  SwingAid

Stroke Savers: The Club Struggle

My return to golf this year was made much easier by the fact that I already had some pro-line equipment in my garage. Between my aging Ping S59 Tour Blades and my classic Wilson Staff Fluid Feel Irons, I had more than enough gear to choose between to get back in the game. What I didn’t see coming was the fact that I would have a club struggle 5 rounds into the year. My year started off great at Maplewood Golf Course in Renton with a mid-80’s round. I needed to get some distances down, but other than that, it looked very strong. I got out for another round, this time at High Cedars in Orting. Again, I posted a score in the mid-80’s with some ‘bleeding’ irons that stayed right most of the day. Then came the monkey wrench, I hit the Staffs. It was like an old pair of slippers, how comfortable and familiar they felt. Just the right weight and just the right feel. They were at home again in my hands.

I outfitted my new Wilson Ionix Bag with my freshly painted Staff blades, found a few wedges to fill out my set online and hit the course with them. Again, ball striking was great, but distances were a bit of an issue as the blades seemed to hit the ball higher and farther than the Pings did. Again, I scored a round in the mid-80’s, but the score felt cleaner. I made a few pre-round decisions about teeing off with my 3 iron, which is about a 230 yard club with the bladed irons, and the round was definitely better. I didn’t score better, but between the weather and my short game, I couldn’t have expected much. The new wedges had not been mastered and I was lost on my 100 yard club. By the next round, I had more feel with the new wedges and a better feel for my distances, but one shank and a bad feeling has me now questioning my decision making abilities.

When the club struggle hits your bag, I recommend turning to your score card for help. Usually, you will see a pattern to your scoring, and depending where your pattern is, there is the answer for your club issues. For example, when I played this weekend, I was +2 on the hardest 6 holes on the course. I was +4 on the next 6 hardest. Finally, I was +7 on the 6 easiest holes on the course. Looking at the issue in my game, it came down to my “100 yard club” or the newest one in my bag. It only takes a minute to figure out that this will come around soon enough with just a few more rounds of play. Distance control was better. Accuracy was better. It’s just having the ability to break down the scoring and see where the issues are and what the real causes are.

If you find yourself scoring well on the easier holes, but not the tougher holes, check and see what you are having to hit into those holes and start working your practice around those clubs. If you find yourself struggling from 100 yards in, dedicate a bit more time to that area of your game. Remember, length only helps if you can use it when you get close. If you are more accurate with full PW from the fairway than a 1/2 SW, it doesn’t make sense to move up to a club that will get you closer. Don’t create a club struggle by leaving yourself in awkward spots on the course that require a fancy shot or something you don’t have in your bag.

The club struggle is definitely a real thing, and every time you go hit that new iron or wood and it goes better, you start to wonder if what’s in your bag is right for you or not. Sometimes though, it’s just a simple swap of a fairway wood for another wedge or maybe a long iron for a hybrid. You never know what clubs you are going to struggle with, but if you can nail down your weaker points and replace those clubs with something stronger, your scores will only go down.

Playing A Round: Riverbend Golf Course, Kent, WA

Image: Tee shot on the par 5 14th hole.

Spring rounds in the Northwest are always subject to the weather on hand. My visit to Riverbend Golf Course in Kent today was one of those rounds where the weather was just bad enough to make the day interesting. A gray cloud cover hung over the course when I arrived for my 7:21 tee time. Rain to the north and showers to the east were showing on the radar, but the clouds over the course were dry, right up until I was called to the first tee.

As our foursome hit the Par 4, 315 yard, first hole, a slight rain started to fall. A rocket 3 iron ripped down the left side of the fairway drifted just slightly into the left rough. A quick sandwedge left me just short of the green. A quick chip and a 2 putt and the round was off to a bogey start. Coming up to the 374 yard second hole, the driver came out of the bag and launched me deep into the trees on the left, about 5 yards into the rough. A punch out 3 iron, a chip and a two putt put me at 2 over heading into the third. The rain continued to move between a light mist and a decent pace.

Image: Tee box view from the 158 yard, par 3, 16th.

As we moved to the third, the 472 yard, par 5 with water down the right side of the hole, my trusted 3 iron failed me off the tee box. What started out as a perfectly placed draw, ended up being a 60 yard tee shot as it clipped a branch on the right side of the boxes and fell to the ground far short of its intended target. I ripped another 3 iron down the middle before a wedge to the green came up just short, leaving a chip and a putt for another bogey and a three over total after 3. The 376 yard par 4, 4th was up next and a blistering drive down the left side placed me at 80 yards in to the flag. This had been my 58 degree wedge all day at the range, but a slight flare took the shot off the green to the right. Again, a chip and a two putt scored me another bogey.

The par 5 5th hole has always been a trouble maker for me. Today, a perfectly placed wedge allowed me to escape with my first par of the day. The par 5 6th hole is a long dog leg left with a decent amount of trouble to the right. A gorgeous draw drive drifted a bit left again just into the left rough, but left me no shot with a tree directly in line with where I needed to go. I ripped a 5 iron down the left, just catching the tree branch and leaving me 175 to the flag. I pulled a 7 iron from my bag and proceeded to fly the green by 15 yards from a terrible side hill/down hill lie. A chip and a 2 putt let me escape this disastrous hole with another bogey and moved me to 5 over.

Image: Two balls tucked in close from the tee on the 175 yard, par 3, 7th.

The par 4 7th is usually no problem. At 295 yards, the hole is one of the easiest on the course. Unfortunately, my 3 iron struggles continued as my draw once again started off too far to the right and fell to earth under the trees. I played a gorgeous punch 3 with about a 40 degree slice out from under the branches and to the center of the green where a 2 putt earned me my second par of the front side. After a quick 7 iron to the green on 8 and other par, we moved on to the 9th to finish out the front. A gorgeous 3 iron off the tee was followed by a sand wedge coming up just short of the green. A chip and 2 putts later, I was 6 over on the front posting a 42 in the rain.

I made the turn and started off the 344 yard par 4 10th with a booming drive down the left center of the fairway. I caught the following shot a touch heavy and landed just short of the green. A quick chip and 2 putts later landed me a bogey to begin the back side. The long par 4 11th was next up and I played it about to perfection, except for a missed birdie opportunity. A big drive, good approach and a putt that moved about 9” in the final foot got me my first par of the inward nine. Disaster struck on the 12th. Normally a stronger hole for me, I pull/chunked/bladed a 3 iron from the tee that flew about 2 feet off the ground before nose diving into the lake directly in front of the tee box. That little oops cost me two strokes on the 12th, but the double wasn’t a round breaker by any means. Actually, the resulting “4” that I played the hole in after my penalty gave me quite a bit of confidence as I found my 3 iron on the next shot.

The short par 3 13th was up next. Normally, this hole plays a solid 136, but today they had the tees up and flag in the middle for a total of right around 120. It was directly between my pitching wedge and my sand wedge. For some reason, even after hearing the lesson a million times, I still have trouble clubbing down with my wedges. I pulled the SW from my bag and proceeded to come up about 7 yards short of the green – or exactly what my 54 degree carries for me. Again, a chip and two putts and we moved along to 14. The par 5 14th is one of those holes that, “doesn’t have much trouble, but has trouble everywhere.” To the right is a perfectly placed bunker to collect your drive. To the left is a wetlands that plays as a hazard. It runs the full length of the hole and is very unforgiving to those that draw the ball. My booming drive when slightly left, but was in a great position. I followed that with a slightly heavy 3 iron before hitting a strong wedge to the green. Two putts later, the par 5 was done and I was holding at 3 over on the back side. On the 382 yard, par 4, 15th, my booming drive went to the left side, but drifted into the rough with some trees to contend with. A punch out, solid wedge to the green and two putts moved me to 4 over on the back.

Image: Looking back at the 17th green and 18th tee box from the 18th fairway.

Another bogey came to me on the par 3 16th. A 9 iron that missed the green slightly right left me with an impossible chip shot to a downhill/side hill pin placement with no green to work with. I hit it about as good as I possibly could but the ball just worked its way down the hill to leave me a long par put which I left about 3” from the cup. Fortunately, the par 4 17th was up next and I ripped a 3 iron down the middle and long to get back on the par train. The long par 5 18th finishing hole at Riverbend is another one of those holes that isn’t all that hard if you just remember to play it smart. I, unfortunately did not do that today as I tried to play too much of the water and cut the corner too far on it. My drive sailed out into the water. After taking a drop, I ripped a 3 iron to an open area short and right of the green. A quick on from there and two more putts, left me with a bogey on the final hole after the drop penalty.

The 42 on the front and 43 on the back is far from a great round at a scoring course like Riverbend. Given the conditions during play, I don’t think it was a bad one either. The persistent rain and the slower pace of our foursome was definitely not helpful in getting a groove going. The few times I was able to get things going, someone posted an 8 or was doing so poorly that they actually just picked up their ball and walked away from the hole. Even still, Riverbend was is very good shape, and while the greens weren’t perfect, they are getting to the consistent stage very early in the year. This will only mean much better golf during the summer months and that the City of Kent’s course will be a great value later in the year. For now, with weekend rates at $28 when you tee off before 7:30 AM and $36 when you tee off after that, Riverbend is a perfect choice for the golfer that want’s a speedy round on a consistent course that will challenge you, without breaking your spirits.

Playing stats: Riverbend Golf Complex – Par 72 – 6015 yards (white) – $28 before 7:30 or $36 after 7:30 on weekends. Also has a 6701 yard (black), 6328 (blue), 5541 (gold) and 4513 (purple) layouts available.

Welcome Back To The Fairway…

Congratulations. You’ve found my blog. If you’re a golfer, welcome. If you’re not, hopefully this can be a tool to get your golfing journey started. Before we go too in depth, I would like to introduce myself to you. I used to be Ron, a former 2 handicap amateur golfer that used to play quite a bit of golf. Now, I’m a husband, father and golfer that would be around a 9 if I got around to joining a club. Unfortunately, I’m no longer a guy with so much time and money on my hands that I can play all I want or practice until the wee hours of the morning when my swing goes awry. These limitations is where my inspiration for “Back To The Fairway” have come from. Think of it as golfing for the time and budget limited individual. Whether you pick up on a few free tips, read about lower cost equipment or just read it for my amazing sense of humor, hopefully you will find something that brings you back with every post.

Before we get too far, I want to tell you a bit about my game and cover what I carry in my bag today. I’m carrying the Wilson Ionix Lite bag. The 4.4 pound empty weight and sturdy stand design works great for me. The solid base unit allows me to stand the bag on carts without the feeling that the stand mechanism is going to make the bag tip over and the storage options on this model are fantastic. My club selection starts off with the 2005 Ping G2 driver with an 8.5 degree loft. It’s equipped with a Aldila NV65 Stiff shaft cut at standard length. A white Lamkin Tour Wrap grip finishes off the club. I carry a 3 and 5 wood from Orlimar. The Orlimar VT830’s are also circa 2005 and were one of the first club designs to offer adjustable weighting. The 15 degree 3 wood and 21 degree 5 wood both feature the low loft cartridges and stock, stiff rated Orlimar shafts. Moving on to my irons, I recently shifted off of my Ping S59 tour blades back to my 1988 Wilson Staff Fluid Feel Irons. I have played blade style irons my entire golfing life, even after trying just about every major cavity backed iron over a period of 15 years. They just set up better and feel nicer in my hands. The bottom line, I have such confidence in those clubs that I know I can hit any shot I need when I need it. When you find a set like this, grab them and never let them go. Mine have made moves across the country with me and back and I wouldn’t dream of getting rid of them, ever.

My wedges are a newer addition to my bag, but are pretty old as well. From what I can tell from the markings, the 54 degree and 58 degree wedges are remakes of the 1960’s lineup that were made in the 1980’s, but getting information on them is very difficult. From what I read online, Wilson disbanded their ‘club making’ division a few years back and getting information on them is a bit difficult. Since then, Wilson has been manufacturing clubs under the umbrella of the entire company instead of having a separate division of the company. Finally, to round out my bag, I have the Odyssey Tri Hot #3 putter with the tungsten weighting. It’s my go to putter, but you might notice the Wilson 8813  in the image above. I sometimes still get out my favorite putter when the conditions are right, but for the most part, the greens in the northwest roll far too slow to use a putter that is as light as the 8813.

That’s what I’m using to hit the ball around, and as far as balls go, I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I am still hitting the 2005 Nike One Gold golf balls. I purchased a very large amount of them on clearance right before I took a break from playing and they are still with me to this day. I’m finally down to about two dozen, so look for some ball testing to come in the near future. That pretty much closes out the bag portion of the blog, though I will update it when I have a change in gear.

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