Since my last post, the new clubhouse is open and we now have beer on tap and a burger in the clubhouse if we want it. Unfortunately, there haven't been a lot of days when we can get together and enjoy it. Joe is working too hard, Steve and Glenn and I are traveling too much. In fact, I am writing this post from a Holiday Inn Express in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Don't ask.
The good news is that, after a number of mediocre rounds, I finally played well for a change on Sunday. My friends wimped out after 9 (a little lightning, a little rain). I kept playing only because I was playing well. With a set of late 80s Wilson Staff fluid Feel blades, my father-in-law's Ping Anser, and a Wood Brothers AT2000 driver, I managed a 72! 27 putts helped a lot, as did 4 birdies. The Wood Brothers driver sent most balls about 20 feet off the ground, but most stayed in the fairway and rolled out to respectable yardages. Not great, but OK. Just goes to show you how little the driver matters as long as it keeps the ball in play.
I think Royal Dornoch likes my idea of leaving a set of vintage clubs there when I leave this summer and setting up a blog to record peoples' experiences playing Dornoch with persimmons and blades. I have a set of regular flex, brand new Wilson Staff fluid feel blades like I used Sunday. I think I will bring them. I'm not sure about the woods yet- or the putter.Only two months to go.
I picked up a number of refinished persimmons that my sister had picked up for me at Steve's golf shop in Lenoir, North Carolina. He does a great job refinishing woods. I have tried using a number of drivers with steel shafts, but find myself going back to graphite shafted drivers. I want to remain competitive and the graphite shaft seems to matter for me, but only with the driver. I also just bought an old Wilson "Indestructo" vintage bag for $10. What's next- plaid pants?
Monday, May 17, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
The weather has been great since the Pinehurst trip, but there hasn't been enough time for golf. And the weather has almost been too good- not enough rain. When the snow finally melted, the course looked better than it had ever been. Since then, however, a dry spring has made things look a little too much like mid-summer. Not enough green and the recent aeration has left the greens looking a little ragged.
After Pinehurst, I switched to a set of Hogan Apex grind irons from the early 90s. Coupled with my new swing, I hit them well and had a couple of good rounds, including an early morning 73. But I still have too many round in the low 40s. In the meantime, I purchased a used Louisville Golf SmartDriver with 11 degree loft and a graphite shat that I have been hotting very well. Louisville Golf is one of the last persimmon clubmakers around (Joe Powell golf in Florida is the other). The problem is that I feel guilty using a graphite shafted driver so I keep looking for one with a steel shaft that I can hit almost as far and consistently. I tried a Louisville Golf Classic 50s driver this afternoon without much luck, so the search continues. I have switched over to Classic 50s fairway woods (3&5) with Dynamic gold shafts that I really like and will keep in the bag for a while. I also am currently using a Ram Tom Watson 58* sand wedge that I like a lot. I switched out the Apex Grind irons today for a set of Powerbilt Scotch blades (don't know the year- probably late 80s or 90s) that I may keep and take to Scotland. They are a muscleback blade with added weight in the toe. This seems to suit me for some reason- more shots missed on the toe than the heel, I guess.
The new clubhouse at my home course is almost done- finally! The next post should include a review of the facilities and the micro brewery beer that will be featured there.
After Pinehurst, I switched to a set of Hogan Apex grind irons from the early 90s. Coupled with my new swing, I hit them well and had a couple of good rounds, including an early morning 73. But I still have too many round in the low 40s. In the meantime, I purchased a used Louisville Golf SmartDriver with 11 degree loft and a graphite shat that I have been hotting very well. Louisville Golf is one of the last persimmon clubmakers around (Joe Powell golf in Florida is the other). The problem is that I feel guilty using a graphite shafted driver so I keep looking for one with a steel shaft that I can hit almost as far and consistently. I tried a Louisville Golf Classic 50s driver this afternoon without much luck, so the search continues. I have switched over to Classic 50s fairway woods (3&5) with Dynamic gold shafts that I really like and will keep in the bag for a while. I also am currently using a Ram Tom Watson 58* sand wedge that I like a lot. I switched out the Apex Grind irons today for a set of Powerbilt Scotch blades (don't know the year- probably late 80s or 90s) that I may keep and take to Scotland. They are a muscleback blade with added weight in the toe. This seems to suit me for some reason- more shots missed on the toe than the heel, I guess.
The new clubhouse at my home course is almost done- finally! The next post should include a review of the facilities and the micro brewery beer that will be featured there.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Spring
It's about a month since my last post, but it seems years away from the snow and cold of this long winter. I am headed out to play golf this afternoon and the high today is supposed to be 85*- wow.
The trip to Pinehurst over spring break began this stretch of nice weather. Our only new course was an old Donald Ross design called Southern Pines. Most of us liked the course well enough, but the clubhouse was a dump- they argued that the recession means that they don't stock any merchandise anymore. Sounds like bad business to me, but what do I know about running a golf course. The problem is that because the course had such a "temporary" almost-out-of-business feel to it, I doubt we will go back.
I am a fan of links and links style courses along with the old fashioned courses I grew up with in the midwest with oak and maple trees and streams- stuff that looks like old farmland. The courses in the sandhills region around Pinehurst all have the same look and feel to me, especially in early spring when the bermuda grass is dormant and brown. There is inevitably lots of bunkering (though oddly I stay away from them most of the time) and many fairways lined with pine trees. You rarely lose your ball because there is little undergrowth and you can see it against the pine straw. The courses aren't long, so keeping the ball in play is the most important thing so you aren't hitting little 90 degree chips out of the woods back into the fairway. The greens are mostly larger than I am used to and so there are more three putts. Some are quite fast even in the sprin and others aren't so you never know what you will find from one course to the next.
My vintage clubs of choice for the trip included my Honma woods and the rechromed MacGregor colokrom irons I mentioned in the last post. Line everyone else, my game was rusty and this showed itself in erractic driving and a mediocre short game.I shot 83-83-87-83. The 87 was on a beautiful day on what is usually my favorite course- a Nicklaus design called The Legacy. The last few years I have averaged in the upper 70s on this course (which we sometimes play twice) but this year I made a real mess of it. On the last day I shot a 45-38 while working on a swing change that I happened on during practice on the range before the round. It took 9 holes to kick in, but it helped considerably, making my swing feel more natural and comfortable which is what I didn't feel most of the trip.
The Colokrom irons were nice enough, but seemed very short and had dynamic gold shafts- not my favorites. So after I got back I switched to Hogan Apex Grinds (early 90s) with Apex stiff shafts. Ilike these a lot better. I have a couple of new persimmon drivers to try out and will report on them in the next post. In the meantime, here are a couple of photos from the trip. The first shows me proudly wielding my Honma persimmon- with Doug obvioulsy admiring its U-shaped grain! The second picture is of the "gang of twelve" who went to Pinehurst this year.
The trip to Pinehurst over spring break began this stretch of nice weather. Our only new course was an old Donald Ross design called Southern Pines. Most of us liked the course well enough, but the clubhouse was a dump- they argued that the recession means that they don't stock any merchandise anymore. Sounds like bad business to me, but what do I know about running a golf course. The problem is that because the course had such a "temporary" almost-out-of-business feel to it, I doubt we will go back.
I am a fan of links and links style courses along with the old fashioned courses I grew up with in the midwest with oak and maple trees and streams- stuff that looks like old farmland. The courses in the sandhills region around Pinehurst all have the same look and feel to me, especially in early spring when the bermuda grass is dormant and brown. There is inevitably lots of bunkering (though oddly I stay away from them most of the time) and many fairways lined with pine trees. You rarely lose your ball because there is little undergrowth and you can see it against the pine straw. The courses aren't long, so keeping the ball in play is the most important thing so you aren't hitting little 90 degree chips out of the woods back into the fairway. The greens are mostly larger than I am used to and so there are more three putts. Some are quite fast even in the sprin and others aren't so you never know what you will find from one course to the next.
My vintage clubs of choice for the trip included my Honma woods and the rechromed MacGregor colokrom irons I mentioned in the last post. Line everyone else, my game was rusty and this showed itself in erractic driving and a mediocre short game.I shot 83-83-87-83. The 87 was on a beautiful day on what is usually my favorite course- a Nicklaus design called The Legacy. The last few years I have averaged in the upper 70s on this course (which we sometimes play twice) but this year I made a real mess of it. On the last day I shot a 45-38 while working on a swing change that I happened on during practice on the range before the round. It took 9 holes to kick in, but it helped considerably, making my swing feel more natural and comfortable which is what I didn't feel most of the trip.
The Colokrom irons were nice enough, but seemed very short and had dynamic gold shafts- not my favorites. So after I got back I switched to Hogan Apex Grinds (early 90s) with Apex stiff shafts. Ilike these a lot better. I have a couple of new persimmon drivers to try out and will report on them in the next post. In the meantime, here are a couple of photos from the trip. The first shows me proudly wielding my Honma persimmon- with Doug obvioulsy admiring its U-shaped grain! The second picture is of the "gang of twelve" who went to Pinehurst this year.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Preparations for Pinehurst
A few years ago I joined a group of local golfers on their annual golf trip over our university's spring break. Like so many players from this part of the country, they used to go to Myrtle Beach every year. By the time I joined them, however, they had switched to playing courses in the sandhills of North Carolina around Pinehurst. So I remain probably the only golfer within a 100 miles radius who has never set foot on a Myrtle beach golf course. I know.. it's nothing to be proud of.
The snow cover here in the New River Valley looks to be with us until probably April or even until our new clubhouse at The Pete Dye River Course is completed which will likely be after the second coming so there will be someplace to drink after we are left behind. Pinehurst is in a week and we are all rustier than the floorboards of the cars we drove when we were young. So four of us drove three hours south on Sunday to play a course east of Charlotte called Eagle Trace and try to warm up a bit. Warm up is a relative term, of course, and the round was played in 20 mph winds which when added to the 40 some temperatures and the necessity of buggy riding had my partners turning on me for picking this course before we had even hit the first tee. Strategically placed hazards of all kinds and shapes on the first couple of holes had me agreeing with them.
Eagle Trace is a Tom Jackson designed course in Marshville, North Carolina. You would think the land around a town like that would be flat, but this course played more like a mountain course- lots of elevation changes and lots of uphill shots into the wind- why does it always work that way? So a course that was only about 6000 yards from the white tees played much longer- or maybe we were just playing that badly? I finished with an 87, the same score I had my only other round played in 2010. The fairways were the normal dormant bermuda. The greens were pretty decent, though several had slope that would be brutal in the summer. Overall, I liked the course, but it's one that would be much better the second time around. The clubhouse had its own cat, which I took to be a good sign.
I played with a set of MacGregor colokrum irons from the 50s that had been rechromed and reshafted with dynamic gold s300s. I guess it was too expensive to restore the copper face of the originals, so the faces are just sandblasted. But they look pretty cool. They actually held up pretty well, but my driving was awful- I was using a mix of my regular Honma persimmon and a Joe Powell persimmon that I got recently. I like the looks of it, but I was leaving it to the right (when I hit it) and then when I would go back to the much lighter Honma, I would be lucky to make any contact at all. I think I will keep these clubs for Pinehurst. My putter is going to be a Nicklaus Muirfield which is one of many copies of the George Low Wizard 600.
A couple of weekends ago, a few of us got together at Joe's house with our wives to talk about our trip to Scotland this summer. A week at St. Andrews and a week in Dornoch up in the highlands. This trip has been in the making for a very long time, but it is actually almost within sight now and we are getting pretty pumped up.
On to Pinehurst.. if it doesn't snow too hard this week.
The snow cover here in the New River Valley looks to be with us until probably April or even until our new clubhouse at The Pete Dye River Course is completed which will likely be after the second coming so there will be someplace to drink after we are left behind. Pinehurst is in a week and we are all rustier than the floorboards of the cars we drove when we were young. So four of us drove three hours south on Sunday to play a course east of Charlotte called Eagle Trace and try to warm up a bit. Warm up is a relative term, of course, and the round was played in 20 mph winds which when added to the 40 some temperatures and the necessity of buggy riding had my partners turning on me for picking this course before we had even hit the first tee. Strategically placed hazards of all kinds and shapes on the first couple of holes had me agreeing with them.
Eagle Trace is a Tom Jackson designed course in Marshville, North Carolina. You would think the land around a town like that would be flat, but this course played more like a mountain course- lots of elevation changes and lots of uphill shots into the wind- why does it always work that way? So a course that was only about 6000 yards from the white tees played much longer- or maybe we were just playing that badly? I finished with an 87, the same score I had my only other round played in 2010. The fairways were the normal dormant bermuda. The greens were pretty decent, though several had slope that would be brutal in the summer. Overall, I liked the course, but it's one that would be much better the second time around. The clubhouse had its own cat, which I took to be a good sign.
I played with a set of MacGregor colokrum irons from the 50s that had been rechromed and reshafted with dynamic gold s300s. I guess it was too expensive to restore the copper face of the originals, so the faces are just sandblasted. But they look pretty cool. They actually held up pretty well, but my driving was awful- I was using a mix of my regular Honma persimmon and a Joe Powell persimmon that I got recently. I like the looks of it, but I was leaving it to the right (when I hit it) and then when I would go back to the much lighter Honma, I would be lucky to make any contact at all. I think I will keep these clubs for Pinehurst. My putter is going to be a Nicklaus Muirfield which is one of many copies of the George Low Wizard 600.
A couple of weekends ago, a few of us got together at Joe's house with our wives to talk about our trip to Scotland this summer. A week at St. Andrews and a week in Dornoch up in the highlands. This trip has been in the making for a very long time, but it is actually almost within sight now and we are getting pretty pumped up.
On to Pinehurst.. if it doesn't snow too hard this week.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
My first round of the year was less than inspiring. First the course- Ballantyne Golf Club, outside of Charlotte. The weather kept getting better as we drove south on I-77 from Radford and continued that way- sunny and 60+ degrees. The course was friendly and efficient and a good deal at $49. They had replaced the greens last summer with a new hybrid grass that I can't remember the name of. Even though the course was soaked, the ball usually left no mark on the greens and they putted true. Everyone liked them. In the summer, I suspect they could be blisteringly fast if they cut them down. The course was very wet, so plugged and muddy balls (and pants) were common and the course played much longer than its stated yardage.
The fairways were brown Bermuda and so it was sometimes hard to see the bunkers, and there were quite a few of them. The course had a similar feel to some of the courses at Pinehurst, though with fewer trees in general. Much greater elevation changes than I expected- I'm glad they didn't allow us to walk it. There were a few blind tee shots, but landing areas were `reasonably generous. My only complaint about the course was that it felt a bit "urban" ringed by freeways and office buildings. That said, the designers did a good job to keep your eye focused on the golf course and not on what surrounded it. Par was 35-36-71 and the back nine had three par 3s and three par5s which made for an interesting time. My most interesting shot, unfortunately" was a badly heeled drive that skipped three times and made it over a pond to the left of the fairway on one of the back nine par 4s. I didn't take advantage of the lucky break, however, and toed my next 4 wood into a big bush. I eventually got a triple bogey that finished my chances for a decent back nine.
Al had the best round- an 81. He drove the ball superbly and putted consistently. The rest of us lagged way behind. I shot a 44-43-87 that included two triples and two double-bogeys. In the "middle" of the round I was making pars and playing reasonably well, but I made a mess of the beginning and finishing holes. My Honma persimmon worked pretty well, but I wasn't happy with the Wilson Gooseneck irons. They are a large head with a channelback sort of design and a thicker topline than many vintage blades. They seemed "clunky" to me, especially the wedges, but I was having trouble hitting down and through the ball and that cost me several shots. The Wilson "Original 600 forged" putter worked fairly well. I had three 3 putt greens, but that is fairly normal for me on a new course. This putter is pretty accurate from 5 feet in and I could judge speed with it pretty well.
Here's a picture of my golf club storage rack, now filled with vintage irons, woods, wedges and putters.
I also received a set of 6.0 rifles that I am going to put into my re-chromed VIPs. I tried a dry fitting at 38 inches for the 5 iron and the swingweight came out about D1 which is fine for me. Maybe this weekend I can glue them. My club purchasing has slowed down considerable and I am selling off my "modern clubs" one or two at a time on Ebay. Then I'll start getting rid of some of the vintage clubs that I don't like very much. I did see a great set of Cobra Greg Norman signature blades on Ebay- I may bid on them. A very nice looking club.
Freezing rain expected today- no golf this weekend. Sigh.
The fairways were brown Bermuda and so it was sometimes hard to see the bunkers, and there were quite a few of them. The course had a similar feel to some of the courses at Pinehurst, though with fewer trees in general. Much greater elevation changes than I expected- I'm glad they didn't allow us to walk it. There were a few blind tee shots, but landing areas were `reasonably generous. My only complaint about the course was that it felt a bit "urban" ringed by freeways and office buildings. That said, the designers did a good job to keep your eye focused on the golf course and not on what surrounded it. Par was 35-36-71 and the back nine had three par 3s and three par5s which made for an interesting time. My most interesting shot, unfortunately" was a badly heeled drive that skipped three times and made it over a pond to the left of the fairway on one of the back nine par 4s. I didn't take advantage of the lucky break, however, and toed my next 4 wood into a big bush. I eventually got a triple bogey that finished my chances for a decent back nine.
Al had the best round- an 81. He drove the ball superbly and putted consistently. The rest of us lagged way behind. I shot a 44-43-87 that included two triples and two double-bogeys. In the "middle" of the round I was making pars and playing reasonably well, but I made a mess of the beginning and finishing holes. My Honma persimmon worked pretty well, but I wasn't happy with the Wilson Gooseneck irons. They are a large head with a channelback sort of design and a thicker topline than many vintage blades. They seemed "clunky" to me, especially the wedges, but I was having trouble hitting down and through the ball and that cost me several shots. The Wilson "Original 600 forged" putter worked fairly well. I had three 3 putt greens, but that is fairly normal for me on a new course. This putter is pretty accurate from 5 feet in and I could judge speed with it pretty well.
Here's a picture of my golf club storage rack, now filled with vintage irons, woods, wedges and putters.
Freezing rain expected today- no golf this weekend. Sigh.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Good news! The forecast for tomorrow in Charlotte is 60 degrees and sunny. This is a big deal, because I have a tee time tomorrow at 11 at the Ballantyne Resort course- Golf Digest 4 1/2 stars for $49. My first round in a month.
I decided to play my Wilson Goosenecks since I am extremely rusty and these are about the most forgiving blades I have. I'll also use my Honma driver and 4 wood because I am used to them. I have a new-old Wilson George Low 600-like putter that I am going to try for the first time.
I decided to play my Wilson Goosenecks since I am extremely rusty and these are about the most forgiving blades I have. I'll also use my Honma driver and 4 wood because I am used to them. I have a new-old Wilson George Low 600-like putter that I am going to try for the first time.
Some of the irons sets that I have chosen to play during my vintage year of golf include:
Hogan Redlines
Hogan Apex II
Hogan PCs
Hogan Radials
Hogan Apex (original model)
Wilson Staff Gooseneck
Wilson Staff Fluid Feel
Wilson Staff Tour Blade FG-17
Wilson Staff (just "Staff" on toe)
Wilson Staff Dynapower
MacGregor Tourney Colokrom (rechromed and reshafted)
MacGregor VIP by Nicklaus (rechromed and reshafted)
MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Muirfield
MacGregor Tommy Armour Tourney 985
MacGregor Tourney CF4000 Cermaic Face
Dunlop Maxfli Australian Blade
Powerbilt Scotch Blade
Walter Hagen Haig-Ultra Contour Sole
More..?
NEXT: First round of 2010 and Looking Forward to St. Andrews
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Well, I passed my first test. The Golf Digest new club issue arrived this week and I haven't opened it yet. On the other hand, the last two Christmas vacations I have averaged seven 18 hole rounds. The total for this vacation...0. It looked for a while like my friend Richard might get me on to Pinehurst #2 next week for some ridiculously low price, but bad weather and cataract surgery next Monday have ended that fantasy.
I have been asking advice on Golf WRX about what shafts to put in a set of re-chromed MacGregor VIPs heads that I picked up on Ebay. There are guys on this site who really know their vintage clubs- here's the link:
GolfWrx.com
The original VIPs mostly came with a stepless steel shaft called the Tourney Taper Microstep. It seems this was the original version of the Rifle shaft, so I am thinking about putting in some flighted rifles with no shaft bands. This is an auspicious year to play these- the U.S. Open is returning this summer to pebble Beach. The first Open to be played at Pebble was in 1972, won by Jack Nicklaus with these irons. Unfortunately, I didn't get a 1 iron- Nicklaus hit a famous one on the par 3 17th at Pebble, almost holing it and cementing his victory. Here's a picture..
So, what is a vintage steel club? We all know about hickory golfers- looks like fun, but a wholly different game. There is no organization for vintage steel enthusiasts, so we get to me up our own rules. The last major (I think) where the winner played a persimmon driver was the 1993 Masters, though other pros continued using them into the later 90s. For my purposes, any real wood driver should qualify for a vintage bag- there are a couple of companies still making persimmon woods (Louisville Golf and Joe Powell) and it would be good to support their craftsmanship. My favorite persimmon is a Hiro Honma Super Big LB. It has a graphite shaft and dates from the mid nineties, but I have older persimmons with steel shafts if someone objects to my "high tech" driver. Any steel shafted blade made before 1993 is my arbitrary qualification. So it's mostly just blades and persimmon with some age restrictions on the blades to encourage the "recycling" of older clubs. Re-chroming, re-shafting, and re-gripping are all OK with me, though maybe you should get extra "points" for older irons with original shafts.
Several vintage steel enthusiasts also buy up old balata balls to use. I applaud their dedication, but I use Wilson Zips, a modern ball that feels soft and has decent distance and spin. There's enough resistance to using persimmons without losing even more yards with old balls. Speaking of resistance, my friends have been watching me play with blades and persimmons for a couple of months now (at least until the great pre-Christmas blizzard of 09) and none have yet committed to join me. There was an interesting and very long thread on GolfWRX a while back started by a golfer who had returned to golf after a long hiatus. He called himself a "purist" and derided the way that technology has changed the game and made it easier and too focused on distance. Boy, did he get jumped on.
Hey- just won a set of 1940s MacGregor Tommy Armour irons for $40. I should get lots of points for those!
Next: Choosing Clubs for 2010
I have been asking advice on Golf WRX about what shafts to put in a set of re-chromed MacGregor VIPs heads that I picked up on Ebay. There are guys on this site who really know their vintage clubs- here's the link:
GolfWrx.com
The original VIPs mostly came with a stepless steel shaft called the Tourney Taper Microstep. It seems this was the original version of the Rifle shaft, so I am thinking about putting in some flighted rifles with no shaft bands. This is an auspicious year to play these- the U.S. Open is returning this summer to pebble Beach. The first Open to be played at Pebble was in 1972, won by Jack Nicklaus with these irons. Unfortunately, I didn't get a 1 iron- Nicklaus hit a famous one on the par 3 17th at Pebble, almost holing it and cementing his victory. Here's a picture..
So, what is a vintage steel club? We all know about hickory golfers- looks like fun, but a wholly different game. There is no organization for vintage steel enthusiasts, so we get to me up our own rules. The last major (I think) where the winner played a persimmon driver was the 1993 Masters, though other pros continued using them into the later 90s. For my purposes, any real wood driver should qualify for a vintage bag- there are a couple of companies still making persimmon woods (Louisville Golf and Joe Powell) and it would be good to support their craftsmanship. My favorite persimmon is a Hiro Honma Super Big LB. It has a graphite shaft and dates from the mid nineties, but I have older persimmons with steel shafts if someone objects to my "high tech" driver. Any steel shafted blade made before 1993 is my arbitrary qualification. So it's mostly just blades and persimmon with some age restrictions on the blades to encourage the "recycling" of older clubs. Re-chroming, re-shafting, and re-gripping are all OK with me, though maybe you should get extra "points" for older irons with original shafts.
Several vintage steel enthusiasts also buy up old balata balls to use. I applaud their dedication, but I use Wilson Zips, a modern ball that feels soft and has decent distance and spin. There's enough resistance to using persimmons without losing even more yards with old balls. Speaking of resistance, my friends have been watching me play with blades and persimmons for a couple of months now (at least until the great pre-Christmas blizzard of 09) and none have yet committed to join me. There was an interesting and very long thread on GolfWRX a while back started by a golfer who had returned to golf after a long hiatus. He called himself a "purist" and derided the way that technology has changed the game and made it easier and too focused on distance. Boy, did he get jumped on.
Hey- just won a set of 1940s MacGregor Tommy Armour irons for $40. I should get lots of points for those!
Next: Choosing Clubs for 2010
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