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.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Pinnacle Gold FX Long vs. Titleist Pro V1
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Back to Myrtle Beach
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
1. Heritage Club
2. International World Tour Golf Links
3. The Witch
4. Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links
5. Caledonia Golf and Fish Club
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Bikes of the Tour de France 2010
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 |
Friday, January 8, 2010
Magnesium the new Carbon Fiber
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.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
New Component Player makes Huge Impact
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.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Golfsmith P2 Irons
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.
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