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 They have been replaced by the Pinnacle Gold Distance.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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Pinnacle Gold Long Drive vs.Top Flight D2

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.