Hackers Golf

Pawley's Island 2010 Reviews

2010-09-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

My recent trip to Pawleys Island allowed me to play 4 new courses in the Myrtle Beach area. Bringing my total to 37 different courses (many multiple times) played up and down the Grand Stand. Here are my reviews of these courses.

Tradition Golf Club A Ron Garl course on a rolling former plantation. Conditions were very good on this somewhat old style course. 6313 yards with a 70.0 rating and 122 slope this course was very fun to play. Large landing areas and pretty generous bermuda greens. Overall, a wonderfull experience and I would play this course again. $55 for a summer time walk-on with cart, I was basically the only one on the course.

River Club I was very much looking forward to playing this Tom Jackson course. When I arrived for my tee time, I was confused that the place was empty. As I checked in I was told that they had just dressed the greens a couple of days before and that was the reason for the lack of players. Having booked my rounds weeks in advanced I was pretty disappointed that I paid full price for greens that were basically covered in sand. Lots of water here and while the course was somewhat fun, I kept getting the impression that I had seen these holes before. Including an island green par 3 and the 18 hole par 5 over water. River Club has bent grass greens that they seems to really be having issues with them. As I understand it, they have/are considering closing the course and switching the greens to bermuda. Bent grass greens can exist in the hot humid climate of Myrtle Beach, Crow Creek can attest to that. But Bermuda greens are better suited to the climate.

Willbrook Plantation I am a huge fan of Dan Maples and his courses (The Witch, Heritage Club, The Pit) are some of my favorites. Willbrook Plantation is another in a long line of Mr. Maples courses that I will play over and over again. This course had some of the longest and toughest par 5's of any of his courses I have played, averaging almost 500 yards from the white tees. Lots of water and dommed greens make this a very challaging and fun course. I will definitely play here again.

Litchfield Country Club Entering Litchfield is like taking a trip through time. This course was designed in 1964 by Willard Byrd and is one of the orginal courses in the area. Time took a toll on this course, however some recent upgrades and improvements have brought the course back. It still needs some work, but the old syle layout is wonderfull. No trickery here, just some really good old school design. Overall a wonderful round of golf on a classic course.

Pinnacle Gold FX Long vs. Titleist Pro V1

2010-09-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

My recent trip to Myrtle Beach (Pawley's Island) allowed me to finally test the Pinnacle Gold FX Long against the number 1 golf ball the Titleist Pro V1.

Pinnacle Gold FX Long
These balls are pretty much out of production but can still be found at a very good price. They have been replaced by the Pinnacle Gold Distance. I like the feel of these balls around the greens and they can be very long off the tee.

The Good: Price. I paid $8.99 per dozen for logo overruns. That comes out to be about $.75 per ball. This golf ball explodes off the club face and is long, It is also very soft feel around the greens and seems to stick the the club face on chips and flop shots.

The Bad: Pinnacle can't seem to leave a good thing alone and renames these balls about every year.

The Ugly: Nothing.

Rating: 8 out of 10 on price, explosive distance, and feel. I dropped this a point from the older Pinnacle Gold Long Drive only because they are becomming harder to find in stores and are replaced by the Pinnacle Gold Distance which are not nearly as soft around the greens.

Titleist Pro V1
Pretty much the standard for all golf balls. These babies are played by more Touring Pros and hackers than any other golf ball since their introduction in 2000.

The Good: These golf balls are long and very good at reducing side spin on drives. Stopping power on the greens is incredible. Flob shots, chips, and even some line-drive miss hits all seemed to stop much better than the Pinnacle FX Long.

The Bad: Price: At $45 per dozen that comes out to about $3.75 per ball. I tend to loose about 3-4 balls per round (sometimes more) and at that price it really hurts. However logo overruns, practice balls, and pre-played balls can be purchased and at a pretty good discount. Practice balls can be purchase for ~$30 per dozen ($2.50 per ball) and pre-played for about ~$20 per dozen ($1.66 per ball). These are good for normal everyday play, but are not allowed in tournament play.

The Ugly: Nothing.

Rating: 9 out of 10 on explosive distance, feel and stopping power. I dropped this a point just because these are out of my price range for everyday golf and with my current handicap (20+).

Final Conclusions
The Titleist Pro V1 deserves the top spot in golf balls played, however the price is just to high for everyday hackers such as myself. I loved the distance off the tee and the stopping power on the greens was incredible. I don't see myself purchasing these for everyday playing, but would consider playing either practice balls or pre-played balls for special (non-tournament) outings. For everyday use, the Pinnacle Gold FX Long are still my go to ball and at just $.75 per ball, I don't feel so bad about myelf when I try to hit that impossible 225 yard 3 wood over water and don't make it.

Back to Myrtle Beach

2010-08-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a few years since I've been to Myrtle Beach to play golf. When I lived on the East Coast my buddy John and I would go a couple of times a year. Last count I've played 32 of the over 100 courses this great golfing destination offers. Most of them multiple times. This year I will be playing 3 courses I haven't played before; River Club, Litchfield Country Club, and Willbrook Plantion. I choose these courses because of the diversity of the cource architects (River Club; Tom Jackson, Litchfield; Willard Byrd, and Willbrook Plantation; Dan Maples. My favorite Myrtle Beach courses I have played are;

1. Heritage Club
2. International World Tour Golf Links
3. The Witch
4. Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links
5. Caledonia Golf and Fish Club

Bikes of the Tour de France 2010

2010-06-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

As an avid cyclist and road bike junkie each year I've looked for a site that listed out each of the teams and the super bikes they rode but haven't had much luck. So this year I decided to put together my own list. It doesn't yet include their time trial bikes, but I will update the list as time provides. Please enjoy.

Team Name	Bike
AG2R LA MONDIALE	KUOTA KOM
ASTANA	SPECIALIZED S-Works Tarmac SL3 SRAM
CAISSE D'EPARGNE	Pinarello DOGMA
COFIDIS, LE CREDIT EN LIGN	Look 595
EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI	Orbea Orca
FRANÇAISE DES JEUX	Lapierre Xelius 900
FOOTON-SERVETTO	Fuji SL 1 RC
GARMIN - TRANSITIONS	Felt AR1
KATUSHA TEAM	Ridley Noah
LAMPRE-FARNESE	Wilier Cento Uno Superleggera
LIQUIGAS-DOIMO	Cannondale SuperSix
OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO	Canyon Ultimate CF SLX
QUICK STEP	Eddy Merckx EMX-5
RABOBANK	Giant TCR Advanced SL
TEAM HTC - COLUMBIA	Scott Addict RC
TEAM MILRAM	Focus Izalco
TEAM RADIOSHACK	Trek Madone 6 Series
TEAM SAXO BANK	Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL3
TEAM SKY	Pinarello DOGMA
BBOX BOUYGUES TELECOM	Colnago EPS
BMC RACINGTEAM	BMC SLC01
CERVÉLO TEST TEAM	Cervelo S3

Magnesium the new Carbon Fiber

2010-01-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

Magnesium is fast becoming the new carbon fiber in the component world. Golfsmith, Maltby and others are now making drivers with magnesium crowns instead of carbon fiber. Magnesium gives the same light weight as carbon fiber, but has a better sound. I was never one to be bothered to much by the sound of carbon fiber. but these new clubs seem very promising. I plan to test out the new magnesium crown Snake Eyes Viper MCG and Lynx LX5 in a future post.

On another note, one of the major monthly golf magazine recently came out with their 2010 Golf Equipment list. Once again, they completely ignore the wonderful products produced by the component world and only list those clubs make by their major advertisers. I still have hope that one day these great companies and products will get the recognition they deserve.

New Component Player makes Huge Impact

2008-01-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

Component clubs have long been synonymous with Long Drive competitions. Names like Alpha, Bang, and SMT have dominated the Long Drive space for many years.

Now a new comer, Geek Golf has made a huge impact in 2007 by not only winning the 2007 Remax Long Drive World Championship, 2007 European Long Drive Champtionship, and the 2007 Sweden Long Drive Championship but also gaining the World Record longest drive with a 551 yard drive during an Official Harmon Tour event. Big year for this new comer with more to come.

Golfsmith P2 Irons

2007-10-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

After much consideration, I finally decided on a new set of irons. I purchased a set (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and PW) of Golfsmith P2 Irons. What I really like about these irons (besides the price $9.99 per head) was that they are a tour cavity design. They are a cavity backed club head, but with a smaller head design and thinner topline. My hope is that this will provide the forgiveness that I need, but also still allow me to work the ball.

I've decided to pair these new heads up with Rifle Project X (6.0) shafts. I've been playing Rifle FM Precision (5.5) shafts for about 10 years now and I really wanted to upgrade to the newer Project X shafts. I've also upped the frequency from 5.5 to 6.0. My golf club head speed hasn't changed much of the years (85mph), and the 6.0 will have a little stiffer feel than the 5.5 shafts but still be good for my club head speed.

Pinnacle Gold Long Drive vs.Top Flight D2

2007-10-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

I decided to start my testing with the Pinnacle Gold Long Drive and the Top Flight D2 since both of these balls are going for the same segment of the market with regard to costs. I've played about 4 rounds of golf with each ball and below are my thoughts and some final conclusions.

Top Flight D2 (Feel)
The Top Flight D2 Series is the latest from one of the leaders in the lower price golf ball market. It features a new dimple in dimple pattern and two-piece construction with a Surlyn cover.

The Good: Price. At about $15.99 per 15 pack these balls are a very good price point. Also, the alignment aid on the ball (a small circle with lines going in four directions like a cross) is great for both drives and putts. On pure hits these balls have a very solid sound and come off the club face fast.

The Bad: Distance wasn't as good as the sound would indicate on pure hits. These were about 15-20 yards shorter than the Pinnacle Gold Long Drive. When chipping, these had a somewhat harsh feeling and didn't have as much spin as the older XL3000 Super Soft.

The Ugly: On miss hits these feel like the Rock Flights of old with shock waves that travel up the club and rattle your teeth.

Rating: 3 out of 10 on price and alignment aid.

Pinnacle Gold Long Drive
The standard of the Remax Long Drive competition, this ball has a 330 dimple pattern and a two-piece construction with a Surlyn cover.

The Good: Price. At about $15 per 15 pack these balls are a very good price point. This golf ball explodes off the club face and is long, 15-20 yards longer than the Top Flight D2. It is also very soft feel around the greens and seems to stick the the club face on chips and flop shots.

The Bad: The alignment aid is lacking with just a couple of small arrows.

The Ugly: Nothing.

Rating: 9 out of 10 on price, explosive distance, and feel.

Final Conclusions
As someone who has played both the Top Flight XL2000 and XL3000 series I was very disappointed in the D2. The softness and feel was just not there. Also, the distance was very disappointing.

The Pinnacle Golf Long Drive was a huge surprise for me since I have not played Pinnacles (other than found ones on the course) for sometime. The explosive drives and softer feel around the greens was top notch.

My next comparison will be the Pinnacle Gold Long Drive vs. Titleist Pro V1.

Update: Since testing these golf balls the Pinnacle Gold Long Drive has been discontinued and replaced with the Pinnacle Gold FX Long. I will use this ball in my comparison with the Titleist Pro V1.

Get the Shaft

2007-08-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

The shaft is one of the most important and in my opinion overlooked components of the modern driver. One of the great things about the component/custom club making world is that the number and quality of the available shafts is staggering. Yes, the driver head is important, but the shaft is the component that can turn a good driver into a great driver. Even the pro-line manufactures are starting to offer more choice in the shafts they offer on their drivers.

For me, there are really two categories of shafts, those that cost less than $100 and those that cost more than $100. My favorites in the less than $100 are;

Accuflex Evolution

UST Proforce V2

Graphite Design YS6+

The over $100 category seems to be growing very fast, with some shafts topping the $300 mark. The pros use these shafts because, lets face it they can afford it and they usually get their equipment for free. Also, a lot of the shafts in this category are built specifically for the pro tours, so the manufactures are not making these for the mass market, although they do put them for sale in this market. Some of the tops shafts in this category are;

Mitsubishi Diamana

Accuflex Creation

Grafalloy Axis

It's all about MOI

2007-07-23T22:44:00.000-07:00

MOI is the latest buzzword in the golf club industry. MOI stands for Moment of Inertia and all of the leading manufacturers are scrambling to get our products that have large MOI. I won't try to explain the scientifics of MOI (even if I could), but lets just say that when it relates to golf clubs it's supposed to mean straighter and further drives.

Just like the pro-line manufacturers, the component industry is hopping on the MOI bandwagon. One of the way all the manufacturers are increasing MOI is by using larger and different geometry club heads.

The new Snake Eyes Mamba uses a square head to increase MOI, as does the new Killer Bee B-Long driver. Both of these drivers are 460cc, titanium club heads.

Another example of increasing MOI is by expanding the overall dimensions of the club head. The new Snake Eyes Python XL driver head has been expanded to 5 inches, the maximum allowed by the USGA. This driver is a 460cc all titanium construction.

No matter which geometry you choose the end result is longer, straighter drives.

Alpha Golf C830.4 M-Fit System

2007-07-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

Outside of the component and Long-Drive world, Alpha Golf is not very well know. But they make some killer components and their drivers are some of the best. The new C830.4 follows in the footsteps of the very successful C830.2, and is also a plasma welded, 460cc, Beta-Titanium club head.

With the 830.4 Alpha has introduced a new concept with the M-Fit System. This system has a sleeve that you attach to your shaft, and then attach the shaft to the club head by sliding the sleeve into the club head and screwing it in from the bottom of the club head. This allows for quick changes of shafts, as long as the shafts have the sleeve attached.

I think this is a very cool concept, mainly because I'm someone who likes to try many shafts and would love to be able to change them quickly. Especially when when new shafts come out and I want to try them with my current club head.

I plan on order one of these and I'll post my review of the whole system.

Titleist Pro V1 vs. Pinnacle Gold Long Drive vs. Top Flight D2

2007-07-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not someone who feels the need to spend $45+ on golf balls. I tend to loose about 2-4 balls per round, so spending $3.75 per ball really seems expensive. That being said, I do like to play with new golf balls. I tend to buy whatever is on sale, but I like my golf balls to be white and have good feel around the greens. Pro V1's are considered the defacto standard of golf balls. At $45+ per dozen, that's pretty expensive to me and I was wondering, would I really notice the difference in how I played and especially my score.

So, I've decided to do a little test. I'm going to buy one box each of Pro V1's, Pinnacle Gold Long Drive, and Top Flight D2 Feel balls and play 3-4 rounds with each brand. I'll post my results at a later date.

Here is a cost break down of each;

Pro V1 - $45.00 per dozen, $3.75 per ball
Pinnacle Gold Long Drive - $15.00 per 15 pack, $1 per ball
Top Flight D2 Feel - $16.00 per 15 pack, $1.06 per ball

Time for some new irons

2007-06-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

I currently play with circa 1984 Dunlop Maxfli John Jacobs System irons with Rifle 5.5 shafts and Golf Pride Dual Durometer grips. These were my dads clubs and I play them for both nostalgia and because they are the most solid irons I've ever hit. But I'm starting to worry that I might break or otherwise loose one and I really want to keep these clubs since they were my dads. Also, since I don't get to play as much these days and these are blades, they are very difficult to hit unless my swing is really grooved.

So, I'm looking at building myself a set of either Golfsmith P2, Golfsmith G40, or Magique M1 irons. Still haven't decided. I'll probably be using the Rifle Project X 5.5 shafts and Golf Pride DD2 grips.

Golfsmith Opens in Portland

2007-06-19T12:54:00.001-07:00

Portland now has it's own Golfsmith and I am very happy. I love going and spending a day down there just checking out all the new stuff. The grand opening was last weekend, but I wasn't able to make it since I was out of town. But I will be there this Saturday.

Snake Eyes Z9 - UST Proforce V2 - Winn Excel Black

2007-06-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

The Snake Eyes Z9 is a new club head line from Golfsmith. The Z9 consists of a 460cc, 15-3-3-3 Beta Titanium Face and Crown. The crown is a thin .5mm thick. Esthetically, this a great looking club head with a simple black crown and a footprint that gives confidence but doesn't look huge. Overall the club head performed great, shots were consistent and the ball practically jumps off the club face. The club head felt light yet responsive throughout the swing, and the sound was solid yet not over powering. The only negative would be the lack of an alignment aid on the top of the crown, the side dimples help some, but the lack of the normal Snake Eyes emblem was very noticeable. Overall, I give this an 8.5 out of 10.

The UST Proforce V2 has become the defacto high end standard of the UST line of shafts. This is the shaft used by many touring pros. I've tried UST shafts in the past, with varying success. Usually, the tips are to responsive for my swing which causes the dreaded high, power fade. The Proforce V2 however produced a very tight shot disbursement with only a few shots slightly fading to the edge of the rough. Torque was very good with no noticeable twisting with the large 460cc club head (see Z9 above). Overall, this shaft performed remarkably well, and while I won't say it's as good as my current favorite shaft, the Accuflex Evolution, it's pretty close. Overall, I give it an 8.5 out of 10.

Since Golf Pride has seemingly decided to stop making my favorite grip for woods, the Whisper grip, I decided to put a Winn Excel Black grip on this driver combination. Overall the Winn Excel was very similar to the Whisper and will now become my new woods grip. 8.5 out of 10.

About This Blog

2007-06-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

There is a misnomer about what are golf club components. The components themselves consist of club heads, shafts, and grips. The club head is the most misunderstood of all components, since most people think the component industry consists of mostly clone makers. This is completely untrue. Companies like Golfsmith, Golfworks, Bang, Alpha, SMT just to name a few spend lots of money on R&D to come up with very unique and innovative designs. These designs are definitely not clones.

While these companies are much smaller than the pro-line makers, that does not mean these companies do not build components just as good, and sometimes even better than their pro-line counterparts.

There isn't much information on the web about what's happening in the component world, and more specifically information about new designs, reviews, etc... I plan to change that with this blog.

I've been building custom clubs for about 5 years now. In the grand scheme of the component world, I am considered a newbie. But I've been playing golf for over 20 years, have had a handicap as low as 11 and and high as 20+ (my current handicap). I spend a lot of time exploring the various club makers websites and in some cases catalogs. And I have become very familiar with each of their offerings. I hope people will find this information informative.