RobotDoctor

I usually grip using a layer of tape followed by a layer of double sided grip tape. Then I use Brampton HF-100 grip solvent. The only issue is that the double sided tape will create a bond that is difficult to break with an air compressor grip removal tool. I just regripped my Ben Hogan Icon blades using painters tape and WD-40 with Contact Cement (per Harry Sewill's recommendation). My biggest issue with the BestGrips microperf grips is when I sell a set and I cannot remove the grip because of the double sided tape method. Now I will be able to save my grips because these have outlasted any club I have used.

Here is my latest driver that should be home tomorrow. Probably now the crown jewel of my collection. I also have another M85W, a 693 set and M09 LFF that were also restored by Dave Wood. The other M85W has a 2 and 3 wood not refinished with neck numbers. I have a two 945W drivers and the fairway woods (2-4) of one of those drivers to be restored by Dave Wood next season. I have a set of M43T (1-4) and a set of Toney Penna TP Specials (1-4) refinished by another club restorer. Add a M75W driver, a Wood Brothers Texan (made for Gene Sauers), my old Cleveland Classic DG43 gamer from 1990-1992 and a custom made driver made by my former club craftsman. Years ago I couldn't afford these true cream of the crop classics but they are readily available now. However, to make them fully restored in the condition of this M85W driver pictured here is not inexpensive. Dave told me this is one of the best M85Ws he's ever worked on, possibly one of the best ever to come out of MacGregor. He also said this particular driver is a different level than Ben Crenshaw's gamer of the 80s (the one he won the Masters with in 84) and that this would have been in Ben's bag had he owned it in the early 80s. To say I am pleased with my small collection is a small understatement.

Ummmmmm, yeah, there is that. I suppose a Minnesotaian must choose what they love/hate more? Love for The Masters or Hate for the Packers. That's a very tough choice, I am sure. Just like the Broncos vs Raiders. LOL. By the way, these are fabulous!!!! I think the Augusta is now sold out. You might be able to email Zach at BestGrips and request Minnesota Vikings colors. They have black in stock.

I use BestGrips Augusta Microperf standard club grips on all my clubs (not including putter). These, imo, are simply the best leather slip on grips available. The tour taper compensates for all of us who wrap extra layers of tape under our lower hands due to unnatural taper. These are tacky and resists moisture very well. They remain tacky. I have had a set of these on my gamer iirons ('99 Ben Hogan Apex blades) now for over 4 years and they're still going strong. They are as tacky and in great condition almost like the day I installed them. As long as BestGrips is in business I will never consider another club grip on my golf clubs. The product and the people behind the product are as good as it gets.

I put my new Icon irons in the bag today for my round at my home course. First iron shot today was a 5 iron layup in the first hole. The shot was well struck and the feel and trajectory was terrific. Overall the results were mixed. My '99 Apex from 6 iron through wedge is bent to the same lofts as the icons. I sacrifice a little bounce to do so but not much. The distances of the 4 iron (at 22 degrees) matches or might just exceed my 3 iron ('99 Apex- 21 degree loft). That could be a result of being pumped up hitting the 4 iron shots during the round. The 5 iron is close to my '99 Apex 4 iron but longer than the 5 iron. I can see a period of getting used to the new lofts. The feel of the irons are just as solid in iron shots struck center to slightly hosel side of center and the lower 1/3 of the face. I could feel shots on the toe side and recognize where I had struck the shot. The loss of distance on shots not struck in the sweet spot is pretty much the same as my '99 Apex. The shot trajectory was a bit better with the Icons. I like the bounce of the irons and found myself not taking as big of a divot as I do with my '99 Apex irons. (Go figure since I removed a couple degrees or more of bounce by bending the lofts stronger). I believe these irons will produce results that I have come to expect with a Ben Hogan iron. Now for the negatives: I don't care for the grips at all. I have come to the conclusion that KBS Tour V 110 stiff shafts are not for me. I couldn't get used to the feel of the Icons because the shafts. I can see a set of Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 stiff shafts being ordered and soon. Then I will install the BestGrips Augusta MicroPerf grip. I will review the irons again after that is done. Conclusion: These irons do require consistent ball striking to produce good shots. However they allow for some not quite perfect strikes to get decent results. Keep in mind there will be a distance loss the worse a shot is struck (like with any blade). I believe a mid handicap golfer (10-12) can still play these irons and hit some terrific shots and enjoy the feel. Those who have terrific ball stricking ability will like this iron. As for me, I believe once I reshaft/regrip these will become very dependable irons with tremendous feel. The lack of a 3 iron and going to 4 degree loft separation on long irons will take a bit of getting used to. This allows a fourth wedge to go in the bag which I will use a lot more than another long iron or hybrid. Having designed amount of bounce will stop my tendency to dig and might eliminate some slightly chubby (not quite fat but not flush) shots I produce from time to time. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

My current handicap as per the Colorado Golf Association is 3.0. I started the year at 3.5 and have played 3 rounds at my home course, Collindale Golf Club (Fort Collins, CO) and is a par 71. I've scored 82, 76 and 74 so far this year. I will play tomorrow with my icons. The only difference in loft are with the 4 and 5 irons. My '99 Apex blades are bent stronger (3 iron to 21 degrees, 4 iron to 24 degrees, 5 iron to 27 degrees, 6 iron is 30 degrees and the rest are 4 degrees separation). The Icons are 4 iron at 22 degrees, 5 iron at 26 degrees, 6 iron at 30 degrees. I hope to score well again. Putting and chipping are really doing well early on. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

additional pictures

I just received my Icon blades (4-PW). Here are comparison pictures of the 6 irons for the Icon blades compared to the '99 Ben Hogan Apex blade (my spare set that has been rechromed with brushed finish and scoring lines redone). The red striped ferrule is the Icon, the solid black ferrule is the '99 Apex. My take is that the Icon blade is slightly larger than the '99 Apex. The hosel is shorter so more weight is concentrated in the head. There have been some reports that the sweetspot is slightly towards the hosel but that remains to be seen. V sole of the Icon is definitely a new design feature. The Icon exhibits a true blade on blade design element where the '99 Apex blade featured a partial blade on blade.

Stu, absolutely spot on regarding how many of us play. I, too, have had many examples of attempting to pull off the "Tin Cup" shot because (fill in the reason here). If I had pulled off a shot once then I believed I can do it again, and again. If I saw a shot on TV that a tour pro hit I believed I could pull if off. I wanted a Maple Syrup Roasted Macadamia Nut ice cream shot when a plain Vanilla shot would have produced great results. I wanted to have flair because I had this course management thought floating in my head. "Suppose there's this guy, and he's standing on the shore of a big wide river, and the ... river's full of all manner of disaster, you know, piranhas, alligators, eddies, currents, <stuff> like that. Nobody'll even go down there to dip a toe. And on the other side of the river's a million bucks, and on this side of the river is a rowboat. What would possess the guy standing on the shore to swim for it? He's a helluva swimmer. His problem's more like why does he always have to rise to the challenge?" No wonder I love this movie because that was a snapshot of my mind at the time I was playing my best golf, the inner crapola, inner debris .... garbage .... loose wires, <horse poop> in staggering amounts." Had I just taken the rowboat and ate the vanilla I would have probably saved 4-5 strokes a round but I had to rise to the challenge with a less than stellar short game. Today my short game is pretty solid and the other parts are coming along well after years of being married to the Anti-Golf. My driving was the strength once upon a time ago but is now work in progress but is coming along. I am back to single digit handicap (just under 4 currently per CGA handicap system) because I eat a lot of vanilla ice cream and always take the rowboat. I don't have to rise to the challenge because I realize that ultimately it is about the score, not the glory.

Would that mean that the 105 shaft would be easier to load than the 120 shaft?

I have 7 dozen of these and a dozen Maxfli HT balata balls. Yes, they have lost compression. On a solid stuck shot they might go "out of round" on a single shot. But they are great when I hit it with one of these. And that is not my whole collection.

Here are a few pictures Dave Wood just sent me of this driver now that the restoration has been completed. He texted me with these: "One of the best in the history of M85W Eye O Matics. Better than Ben's!" "If I had this on that cool autumn morning in 83' it would have gone into BC's bag and won a green coat." Very high praise from one of the best persimmon club makers/restoration craftsman ever. All I can say is WOW. It should be back to me the beginning of next week.

Kind of an illusion. These are pro taper so that means less taper from butt to end. These might be slightly larger than standard grips. BestGrips recommends using the undersized model for the standard grip size. The standard grip is slightly oversized. These are around $20/per grip so they're not cheap. But they last .... and last ..... and last ....... and last. They're worth every penny. My hands do not slip with moisture, even if it is drizzling. Totally awesome grips and even better people and customer support.

I am thankful that the courses in Colorado have reopened. Not all courses were closed during this time as some county club courses throughout the state remained opened. I live across the street of one of the city courses in Fort Collins, CO (my home course) and it was painful watching the course green up and people talking a walk was allowed on the course but golfers were not. At least the courses are opened for play here, hopefully they will open everywhere soon.

I absolutely love the feel of slightly tacky leather slip on grips. I believe there is no finer grip than the BestGrips Microperf club grip. My preference is the Augusta limited edition Microperf. Best part of this grip is that they last for a very long time. I am into my 4th season with my grips on my irons and LW and they're still going strong. These may last another 4 years easily (expect I might be changing clubs soon - new Hogan Icon irons).

The combo set looks outstanding!!!!! I ordered a set of Icon irons in nickel finish (4-PW). They are in the process of being shipped today. With the lofts they are designed at this poses an interesting scenario since I am essentially dropping a 3 iron. Do I add a fourth wedge in my bag or just go with 13 clubs? Of course there is an option of the UiHi 18* utility iron. Decisions, decisions, decisions ......

Yeah, Jack Nicklaus was a horrible putter. He only won 18 majors, 72 tournaments and placed in the top 10 in majors a total of 73 times.

I prefer my dominant eye (left) to be slightly behind the ball when I putt because I get a better feel of the line I am putting on. This perception allows me to putt through the target line a lot easier for me.

I recently purchased a M85W driver and sent it to Dave Wood for restoration. He looked at it and emailed me the following responses over a few emails: "OMG... You possess the Rarest of the rare! Got to wonder who this was made for?" "... Your M85 is one of the best I have ever worked on. BC's is really good, but yours is absolutely next level." "Completely taken apart and reassembled. All new Reed & Prince solid brass screws (as original). "Am currently stripping and detailing the club head. One of the best M85’s ever." He said that the grain is perfect, aligned from toe to back of hosel perfectly, shaped to weight (no lead in the head), a big block while maybe not a Jumbo head but a real big block. No neck cracks and carbon spots and mineral deposits in the wood with perfect micro grain. Dave told me yesterday that he absolutely loves this driver and if he had this wood in the early 80s this would have gone right into Ben Crenshaw's bag as his primary gamer. There is just something very, very special with MacGregor pro line woods from the early 50s. The M85s, 693s, 945s and M43s were in a class in their own and some of the most sought after woods back in the day. To say I am pretty excited to receiving this M85W back is an understatement. The first two pictures are from Dave Wood during the restoration process. The following pictures are from pre-restoration when I first received the M85W.

No kidding!!! My home course (across the street) has been closed due to Covid-19 lock down. The course might open next week as Colorado is relaxing some of the restriction. Then I can hit some balls to break off the rust off my old bones and play a few rounds. Then the Macs and balatas will come out. Weather forecast next week is mid 70s to low 80s next week with one day reaching 87. Since I am not working I want to be playing golf!!!

There is a different sound with the ball striking a wooden club. Instead of the metallic "ting" sound it is more like a "thwock". I have a few dozen new old stock Titleist Balata golf balls that have lost much compression so the sound is a bit more muted but the feel ...... oh baby! I love the reaction of my young playing partners when they see one of my classic MacGregors coming out of the bag. They want to hit it and I always say sure as long as any deformation that happens they pay to refinish my wood. They ask how much and I say between $150 and $200 just to clean up any scratches or pit marks. Every time the young kids say thanks but no thanks. I then tell them to look on eBay and search for persimmon driver and they can get one for little to nothing. I hope some have and find the love of persimmon like we do.

My putter has a full shaft offset with a welded "long pipe" neck. This is, I suppose, a double bend. Toe hang is 4:30-ish. The shaft offset allows be to have a slight forward press without shutting down the face, at least that's what my brain thinks. The flow is very pleasing to my eye, very flowing and not harsh like the plumber's neck. I like flow, not abrupt lines. This putter serves this purpose well and the results have been outstanding.

I have my flights, hotel reservation (in Augusta) and rental car reserved for the Tuesday practice round!

Tiger isn't done yet. He is still competitive and if he catches lightning in a bottle again, or a handful of times ...... . In my book Jack Nicklaus is the GOAT based on his major record. Tiger is right on his heels. As a complete golfer, I don't think there has ever been a total package like Tiger Woods. He excelled at every facet of the game. Nicklaus didn't have as good of short game as the rest of his game. Arnold Palmer was known to be a bit wild off the tee. Ben Hogan could hit it tee to green as well, if not better, than Tiger Woods but Mr. Hogan wasn't a great putter. Greg Norman was as long and straight of a driver of the golf ball as anyone that ever played the game but Greg often made poor choices. Not sure if he choked or if he was way too aggressive. None the less if each of these golfers could replace their deficiencies of their game with that part of Tiger's game then we might be looking at these golfers at a completely different level. No, Tiger Woods was the total package.

I have a terrific range finder (Leopold) that works great. I am trying to become less dependent on the range finder and going back and pacing distances from sprinkler heads like I did years ago. When pacing off yardage it seemed like my mind was more focused on the shot instead of going into auto-pilot or going brain dead like it seems now. There's a disconnect between me and the shot at hand, or so it seems. That said, range finders are terrific for shooting distances between me and a hazard I may want to clear or anything for that matter. Since it is working I don't see the need for a GPS. Also, my rangefinder doesn't project slope so it is legal in some tournament play.