Equipment Gripe: You Want How Much For 10 Yards?

Sorry, but this is a face palm moment that I had to share with you. You see, I recently was emailed an advertisement for a well known online golf shop – which I will leave nameless for this post – that claimed to be able to get any golfer an extra 10 yards off the tee, no matter what! The email than had photos of the latest offerings from Taylor Made, Callaway, and many others right below the headline that is so tempting to so many that may read it. I instantaneously had a flashback to my days in golf equipment sales and dreaded what they were going to say next. The infomercials, As Seen On TV, and other horrible products that would make everyone play like a pro started reeling through my mind. Still, 10 yards, that' can’t be all that hard to guarantee can it? If so, shouldn’t I check this out? How much will it end up costing me to find that elusive 10 yards? As I glanced through the $500 selection of clubs, I thought of something, just how far will that extra 10 yards go towards improving my golf game?

With a very strong 250 yard drive and average dispersion distance of 40 yards (5° open to 5° closed) the average golfer will never see that full 10 yard increase on the course. When looking at the numbers, a 5° closed face-to-path swing will result in a loss of 3 yards of distance on a straight 250 yard shot. The same could be said of the open face as well. Again, these are theoretical numbers as far more depends on where the ball lands, how it rolls, etc…, but you get the idea from the ‘raw’ numbers and geometry involved. When I go in and get fitted for my new $500 driver and my distance increases to 260 yards, my 5° hits will gain about 7 yards in distance, not the 10 that a prime hit gains. Loosely put, for my game, 7 yards is about 1/2 a club difference into the green.

While I love the long ball more than anyone else, spending what could be an entire summer of golf (10 rounds at $50 a round) on one club that will get me about half a club better on approaches seems a bit insane to say the least. Doing so from an online retailer that hasn’t fit the club to my needs is even more crazy. Seeing testing results online from people like Rick Shiels, where he takes a 20 year old club and a current model and throws them up, side by side, only to produce a 5-10 yard gain really points out that it is far more about the swing than it is about the club. Recently, Mark Crossfield did a test pinning the newest Taylor Made offering against a 5 year old SLDR and an even older model. The SLDR won with both people using it for that round. The M3 is $499.99 retail and the SLDR is available for about $130 used in like new condition. Just doing some legwork and paying $40-100 for a fitting will do far more good than buying a new-new club.

Personally, I’m more tempted to see what stats would do if I trimmed the shaft of my driver a half inch down, or maybe even a full inch down. While this may cost 5 yards a drive in distance, if the dispersion rate drops, I will have more drives around the 275 mark that find the fairway and less at 270 that land in the rough. Positioning is far more important in the game of golf than 5 or 10 yards will ever be. If you are able to consistently hit your driver where you want it, your scores will come down, and the cost of lost balls will as well. In fact, this is exactly why I started carrying my 17° hybrid this winter, controlled distance off the tee, not just raw “let’s see where this goes” stuff anymore. My scores are the better for it as well.

So, before you fall for that new club smell, do some homework and watch some testing videos. If you can find a used, or last year’s model club for 20-40% of the price of this year’s that will go just as far for you, aren’t you better off in the long run? Comments are always welcome or you can email me with any question or comments you don’t want to post.

Building A Great Set For Under $500, New?

Budget golfing can be tough. Buying a new-to-you set of clubs can certainly save you a ton of money, but what if you really want to have that ‘new bag feel’ just once in your life? Believe it or not, it’s really possible to build a budget set for far less than you think, you may just not recognize all the names in that bag when it’s finished. So, let’s get started with “our new $500 (or under) bag” and see what we end up taking to the course.

Driver – Bullet Golf- B52 Bomber 460cc Driver – Uniflex Graphite Shaft – $69.99

While Bullet Golf isn’t a household name, they do make some reasonably good quality clubs that perform pretty well for the price. You won’t be able to dial this one in too much, but it will have that new club smell that you really want to have in your new bag, so for $70, it’s a winner.

Runner’s Up - Srixon Golf Z-355 Driver  -  Wilson Golf- Staff Triton Driver

Fairway Wood – Bullet Golf- .357 Fairway Wood – Stiff or Regular shaft in 15° model – $29.98

Sticking with the Bullet woods for this round as well. A “3 wood” isn’t a club that will be used often, but if you need a bit more accuracy off the tee, the extra loft of this club will do wonders for your game. The $30 price tag will easily make the cut and the forgiveness in the head will help you make a bit better shots into the green or offer you a bit more control for those tighter tee shots.

Runner’s Up - Tour Edge Golf- Exotics XCG7 Fairway Wood - Affinity Golf- Xplode Fairway Wood

Irons - Tour Edge Golf- Exotics E8 Irons (7 Iron Set) – Stiff or Regular shaft – 4-PW - $199.99

The Tour Edge Exotics E8 Irons are a pretty impressive setup for the beginner/forgiveness seeking player. Overall, these rate very well with entry to casual players with the only complaint being the grips. Still at $200 for a full set of irons, it’s hard to argue with a full setup that performs this well.

Runner’s Up - Tour Edge Golf- Exotics E8 Combo Irons (7 Club Set) - Tour Edge Golf- Hot Launch 2 Irons (8 Iron Set)

Wedges - Ray Cook Golf RCX Black Nickel 3-Wedge Set – Uniflex 52°-56°-60° – $69.99

The Ray Cook RCX Black Nickel wedges may not be the most durable, long-term wedges around, but they will look good in your bag and perform beautifully for the casual player. They are available in both Black Nickle and a Silver finish to customize your look. The 52°, 56° and 60° will gap nicely with the Exotics E8 set and should give you a nice range down to short yardage situations. The best part, they cost under $25 a wedge when you purchase the 3 pack.

Runner’s Up - Wilson Golf Harmonized SG Chrome 3-Wedge Set - Solus Golf 420CS 3-Wedge Set

Putter - Ray Cook Golf- Silver Ray SR500 Center Shafted Putter – $39.99

Is that a TaylorMade Spider in your sub $500 bag? Nope, it’s a Ray Cook Silver Ray center shafted putter. The SR500 is easy to line up and get the ball rolling on the correct line and it does it at an extremely budget friendly price. For just $40, you get a top notch design that will help you make some putts – though practice will help way more than a putter ever will. The black finish will help you block out the sun reflection, but if you want to pony up $10 extra, they have Green, Red and White finishes also available.

Runner’s Up - Dunlop Golf- Tour #1 Putter - Ray Cook Golf- Silver Ray SR600 Putter - Dunlop Golf- NZ9 Putter

Bag - Ergonomix Golf Pro K 10-Way Stand Bag – $39.99

I’ll be the first to admit, if a bag is comfy to carry, it’s good enough for me. The Ergonomix Pro K is that type of bag, without many of the frills that drive the cost up. It doesn’t have a dedicated pocket for a water bottle or a range finder. It doesn’t have a separate putter pocket on the outside of the bag for when you cart your clubs. It is just a nice, lighter weight bag that carries your essentials on to the course and it’s priced aggressively to reflect that. At $40, it’s a deal to be had, even if it only comes in a strange black and green combo.

Runner’s Up - Hot-Z Golf HTZ Sport Plus Stand Bag - Ray Cook Golf- Polaris Stand Bag

Balls - OnCore Caliber Golf Balls – 2 dozen balls – $25.00

I was pretty impressed with both the Caliber and Avant balls from OnCore Golf. I preferred the Avant over the Caliber, but there may not be a better ball on the market for slower swing speeds than the Caliber. Around the greens, the Caliber performed amazingly well, but my 110+ MPH swing was just a bit more than the Caliber wanted to take on longer shots. It resulted in a fractional loss of distance for me verses the Avant, but that’s not saying you shouldn’t play it. The best part is, with the 2 dozen sale price, you get them for just over a buck a ball, which is much nicer if they find the water or woods compared to a $4 Titleist.

Runner’s Up - Wilson Staff TD Soft Golf Balls - Nitro Tour Distance Golf Balls - Dunlop DDH Golf Balls

That put’s the entire bag cost at $475.00, which leaves a bit of room for some tees, a towel and a few other fun gadgets. Here’s a small selection to get running on those:

Tees - 4 PTS Step Golf Tees (50 Pack)  -  Towel - Greens Towel- Microfiber Golf Towel Duo Pack  -  Divot Repair/Ball Marker - Softspikes Golf- Divot Repair Push Tool  - G;pve - Snake Eyes Golf MLH Pro-Fit Tour Leather Glove

That should take us pretty close to the $500 mark total and includes just about anything you may need for a brand new bag setup. Now, before you ask, no, I do not get a dime from Rock Bottom Golf for this post, they just have some of the more aggressive pricing on budget gear that I have seen. You can also check out Budget Golf and of course, look at quality used gear as well to save a fortune on top brands (remember, after you hit them once, they aren’t going to be “new” anymore) that still have plenty of play left in them.

Golf Fitness: Journey To 100–Week 14

What’s it been, about 4 weeks now? Yes, I haven’t forgotten about my Journey To 100 segment, I’ve just been a bit wrapped up in other things lately that made it practically impossible for me to maintain ANY sort of a fitness goal. So, I’m actually posting this without a weigh in in the last 4 weeks as on the 27th of April, I was the victim of a procedure on my leg that removed a large amount of varicosities from my right leg. Now, as cool as getting shot by a laser sounds, or as gruesome as having some of the supporting veins pulled out of your legs may seem, it’s the downtime that is the real killer. I am now two and a half weeks out from the surgery – and quite a few calories eaten in boredom – and finally starting to feel almost normal again. Needless to say, my week 14 weight-in was not what I hoped for, but given what I put myself through in the last 2-3 weeks, anything that didn’t balloon back up to 325 is a bit of a win for me.  My official weigh-in put me at 304.5, or about 8 pounds up since my week 9 weigh-in. Again, being laid up for a solid week and having limited mobility for the next 10 days definitely did not help in any way, shape or form. Now it’s time to get back at it and get moving forward (or downward) again. If you want to know more about what went on, I’ll be posting a bit more information about that in a different segment down the road, but it’s a good warning for those that have little issues. As for this post, yes, it was a 9 pound gain over the last 4 weeks, which isn’t good, but again, it’s better than I thought I would be, so time to get moving back down to the 280’s and keep moving forward.

2018 Competition Season: An Unforeseen Snag To The Program

Well, this was the weekend I’d been looking forward to all month, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a great one at all. As of today, I had to pull out of the tournament this weekend at Redmond Ridge because my leg is still not at 100% and my swing is far, far, far away from being ready for a competitive setup. It kills me to pull out of this one, but I don’t want to risk injury just to get a two week head start. By skipping this one, I have a full month until the June 16th tournament at the Coyote Creek course at Willow’s Run and then a second tournament the following week at Cedarcrest Golf Course in Marysville. It should be a great time to get things rolling prior to the end of the season.

I will say this though, I do plan on getting out for a few more rounds over the next few weeks, maybe even this weekend just to see where my feet are at and how the ball is flying. I plan on getting in a range session this week to be sure I’m back up and running normally before then, but for now, it seems like I’m close to getting back out there. Maybe this weekend would be a good time to hit Blue Boy West for a quick round and see how things are working without the need for the longer sticks. It’d be nice to take everything out of the bag and lighten it up a bit for the first round back. I’ll keep you posted as soon as I pick out my weekend round location and if you want to join me, shoot me a message!

Great Deals Aren’t Always Great Deals

Just about the time you decide to go shopping for that new golf equipment, you’ll find that “deal” that makes you jump on it and spend your hard earned cash on that “blowout price!” What most people fail to do is really shop around before making that jump, regardless of the item. I’m going to throw myself under the bus for a minute and say that since my leg will be far less than 100% for the rest of this summer, I’ve been looking at getting a top quality push card to take a bit of the strain off my lower body. In my search, I’ve seen a number of options and build qualities that have caught my eye. One of them is the Sun Mountain Golf Micro-Cart GT. The $200 cart can be found at just about any online retailer, but what we don’t see is how the little bits change from site to site. For example, one of my favorite sites, RockBottomGolf.com has the cart for $209.99 with a list price of $251.99. Even at the sale price it’s still $10 more than buying the cart from Sun Mountain direct. A bit more digging, I found the same cart through jet.com (a division of Wal-Mart) for $189.00 if you’re ok going with the black finish.

Now is when it gets interesting though. If you live in a state where sales tax is charged (it’s about 10% where I live,) you may be better off finding a site out of state that ships for free instead of getting the lower price. A great place to shop if you are looking for a stellar price is golfdiscount.com. They have spectacular prices, but because they are in Washington state, I end up having to spend an extra 10% on anything I buy there. Instantly, it becomes a better deal to shop elsewhere online. I save $20 buy making that move on a $200 cart, so i highly recommend doing that if you have the option. The other consideration is, how much use will you expect to get out of this item, and how much should you invest in it? For example, $200 is a ton to spend on a cart – for any golfing budget. In fact, it’s 2-3 rounds at nice course or even 10 rounds at twilight. Is it worth it to spend $200 on a cart to hold your bag? It’s really hard to say yes to this when a sub $50 cart will do exactly the same job and hold up just as well, but that a lesson for another day. Today, make sure when you are shopping for that new item and doing all your research that you have a solid number in your head for what it should cost before you figure out what people are charging for it. Remember, just because a website says that it “retails” at $250 doesn’t mean that it actually sells for that.

2018 Competition Season: First Tournament Of The Year–Redmond Ridge: Part Two

If you caught up with me in part one of this post, you’ll undoubtedly know that I am now registered for my first tournament action of 2018. The scary part is that tournament is just two weeks away and my game is rusty as all get out. Yes, I haven’t hit balls in over a month. Yes, I’m coming off a surgery. Yes, I’m posting a handicap for this. And yes, it’s going to be very, very ugly. That said, as I started planning my route around The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge, I thought I would share my pre-round routine and execution plan on the course with you so you can see what I do prior to playing an unfamiliar course with a rough game. So, again, if you didn’t read part one, make sure to sneak back to that post and read it first. If you have already, the back nine awaits.

The inward nine starts off with a 420 yard par 4. Even with the distance increase, if it’s dry out, it may be the first hole to really go out with my 16° hybrid setup. A good 250 yard hybrid off the tee with a draw should run down close enough to give me a nice 7 or 8 iron into the green, which should be more than manageable. The risk of running a driver off this hole brings the right hand side fairway bunker into play and could also bring the front right greenside bunker into play if the pin is on the right. If not, driver is an option, but the safe play has me thinking hybrid all the way. A short par 4 follows the 10th and honestly, the best play on this 332 yard hole is a cut 5 iron for me. At 200 yards, it will leave me a full 51° wedge into the green for my second. It sets up very well for this play as well as the hole curves slightly to the right. The 12th hole is another par 3 hole that plays far different from the front placement to the back placement. Needless to say, I’m starting to see these huge greens and starting to worry about leaving myself 50-60 foot putts on every one of them. Still, a 9 iron plays to the front of this 175 yard hole, while a 6 iron would reach the back. I betting middle placement is a solid 8 iron on this hole, but again, it will depend on the pin placement which club actually gets used.

For the par 4, 13th hole, I’m lost. It’s a hard dogleg right that cuts hard at 270 yards out, but requires a left to right shot from the tee box. Normally this would be a cut driver, but if I overshoot the distance on this one, I’ll face a down hill lie in what looks to be a cut of rough instead of a fairway. Still, the driver may be the play unless I am feeling good about cutting the hybrid. If I can perch it at the top of the hill, I’ll end up with a light gap wedge or a sand wedge into the downhill green. The 14th sets up perfectly for my 16° hybrid off the tee with it’s favorite little draw. I’ll be aiming at the right fairway bunker and letting the ball drift around to the left. That should leave a nice 60° wedge into the green due to the slight downhill flow of the hole. As I pull up to the 15th tee, a small amount of panic will set it. This is a 205 yard par 3 from the tips. The front edge is 175 from the box, so a solid 7 iron, but if the pin is back, I’m going to be target shooting with either my 22° hybrid or my 5 iron. Either way, I’m praying for a front placement on this gigantic green.

The 16th is another hole that should play well for a recovery hole if the par 3 goes awry. This 375 yard hole plays straight up the middle with a draw to the dogleg left fairway. From there a soft 56° wedge should find the hole, but if the hybrid runs a bit, I may be able to run my 60° wedge up to the hole instead. The 17th sets up perfectly as a driving hole for me. Long, slight curve to the right and not much trouble to be seen. It looks like the play is left side of the fairway and let the ball come back to the right side. Nothing fancy, just get it out there and leave a 8 iron or less into the green. That brings us to the par 5, 18th hole, and 550 yards of finishing power. This is one of those holes that won’t easily be hit in two, so I’m planning on it being a three shot hole. A driver off the tee should leave me about 260 into the green. A solid 7 iron should leave me a 60° wedge to the green for a possible birdie. The play off the tee looks to be starting it at the water line on the left and letting the ball come back to the center of the fairway. Nothing too hard, just a long finishing hole.

So that’s the plan for the tournament on the 19th. Part of me thinks I’m crazy for even trying this, but the other part of me is thinking, what’s the worst that can happen (scoring wise, not health related.) I played the Ridge back in the day when it was Trillogy and did pretty darn well there. I figure if I can come in about 80 or so on my first round back in some time, I’ll consider it a victory. From there I’ll just have to see what happens and see how my game reacts over the next few weeks. Until then, I’ll just get in what I can for practicing and see if there’s a way I can make the most of the game that I have at the time the tournament starts.

2018 Competition Season: First Tournament Of The Year–Redmond Ridge: Part One

So, it’s booked… Officially… Yes, just a few weeks out of surgery on my leg, I’ll be participating in the first event of my 2018 Season at The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge. From the tips, the course plays just over 6500 yards and will take some major tune up work to get ready for. I’m officially a 3.4 handicap walking in to this one, so I’m not going to get much help in general in the net scoring department. Still, lets take a quick look at the course and see how this should set up for my game.

The course opens up with a short, 341 yard par 4. It’s a slight curve to the right off the tee without any major trouble on the hole. A driver here may be the play even though the distance isn’t needed. It takes the left fairway bunker out of play and leaves a solid wedge into the green. The second hole, a par 3 that measures just under 190 is next up. The downhill hole plays to more of a 7 iron than a 6 iron, but it will depend on the weather and pin placement. There’s a full 3 club swing from the front of the green to the back, so pin placement will be key to club selection. The par 5 third is where things get really interesting at Redmond Ridge. A very long, very straight tee shot (it’s 350 to the break in the fairway) will leave a very long second shot that will be a layup. The 613 yard hole is just not reachable in two so it’s a three shot hole to be sure. A seven iron would follow a standard drive here to leave me 120, or a full 51° wedge into the green. Hopefully this is how the round starts out.

Moving to the next three holes on the front side, we have a 160 yard par 3, which will play again into pin placement. A pitching wedge plays to the front, a 9 iron to the middle and an 8 iron to the back. Simple, but to cash in on a birdie, I’ll have to nail that pin placement and keep the ball straight. A 450 yard par 4 comes up next on the list. It should play somewhere around a driver/7 iron or driver/8 iron, but so much of this course will depend on keeping the ball straight off the tee. There won’t be many hybrids on this course from those back tees, but if the driver is working, then I should be fine. The second three holes are finished up with a 501 yard par 5, and the first of the hybrids to come out for the round. If my tee shot goes as planned, a solid 5 iron or a nice 19° hybrid should score well on this hole and give me a decent shot at a birdie.

The 7th hole is the third par 3 on the front side and should be a scoring opportunity. Playing just about 160 up a slight hill, it should be a soft 8 iron to the front, solid 8 to the middle and a soft 7 to the back. It’s all about pin placement again on this one, so we will have to wait and see what it calls for. The narrow 8th hole plays between houses and should be a tough tee shot. There is more room to miss left on this one and it only leaves a good gap wedge into the green. I’ll be playing this one down the right side with a draw to give myself the biggest margin for error possible. The front side finishes with a final par 4 that plays about 360 yards. This is a perfect hole for me not to play well on. It has a fairway bunker right at my landing distance which would leave me a 56° wedge into the green. If I can cut the ball off the tee and keep it left of that bunker, I should be clear, but this is a disaster hole if I try to do too much with it.

I’ll highlight the backside over the next few days as I setup my bag for this one and get a few practice sessions in over the next few weeks before the event. Again, I’m still about a week away from hitting balls at full speed, but the short game sessions can start Friday. I’m hoping the weather stays good and I can get out a bit and get some feeling back in the swing. It’s been a tough layoff for me, but what the heck, lets go get this one.