Alf. S

Played yesterday and took out my 52° wedge at the 10th to play a full shot in, it felt light in my hand, looking at the grip it was a std size instead of mid. I have used one of the sample grips Star Grips sent me, the pink neon grip. Good thing I knew where to look to identify it was the wrong size. I used up all the grips including the spares, Iooks like I will get a chance to test how easy the grips come off.

Date 04/29/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 84 Course Handicap 7 Gross Strokes over/under par 13 Net Score to Par 6 Net Score 77 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive WHS cut this week takes me down to 7 strokes. This is my only round this week, off to Cyprus. Started an easy game thru 1st 5, even in 20mph wind. Then slowly but surely the wheel nuts loosen, by the back nine the wheels totally fell off and penalties and 3 putts took over. Par = 71 CR = 69.7 SR = 123

Date 04/27/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 78 Course Handicap 9 Gross Strokes over/under par 7 Net Score to Par -2 Net Score 69 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive Off Whites Par 71/ CR 71.2 /SR 126 Last game of the week. First competition of the season 69 nett and a money 2 at the last. This is a matchplay qualifier (top 32) so hopefully will get me into the draw!

If I’m carrying then it is normally 8-10. But if I’m using my electric trolley then probably nearer 20, 10-12 newish/unblemished, another 8 of “practice” balls. I play with Pro V1s the practice balls will be a selection of premier balls found on the course.

Someone sorted it for me. I put in nett score to par rather than gross.

Date 04/25/2024 Course Name Oatridge Golf Course Gross Score 78 Course Handicap 9 Gross Strokes over/under par 8 Net Score to Par -1 Net Score 69 Net Birdies or better 0 Longest Drive 0 Par 70/SR 125/CR 67.7

Date 04/24/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 85 Course Handicap 9 Gross Strokes over/under par 14 Net Score to Par 5 Net Score 76 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive Slope 123 Rating 69.7 Back down to earth with a bump

Oh and I'm leading. First out the gate. Also played Barassie in Ayrshire yesterday. It is just up the coast from Troon as it prepares for the Open. Shot 85 but with a slope of 137 ended up with 13 strokes so ended up nett 72. I usually get a nose bleed on courses longer than 6500 and we played Whites at 6800. So happy with my 3 rounds so far this week. West Lothian Airngarth Slope rating off yellow is 123 and rating is 69.7

Date 04/22/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 76 Course Handicap 9 Gross Strokes over/under par 5 Net Score to Par -4 Net Score 67 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive Summer course just opened on Saturday and hit 77 with 23 putts (8 on Back nine). Today hit 76 with 35 putts. You would think if I put my putting from Saturday to today's round I would have shot 65!!!! Goes to show that stats can be misleading Saturday GIR 3/18 Up/down 10/15. Today GIR 12/18 and Up/downs 2/6.

I'm Arccos some time. I usually put the sensors on when I want to do some data analysis. They stay on for 4 - 8 weeks and then put away. Reason being is that I find I can get more focused on gathering the data than playing the game. An example, over the last year I have had a long lay off due to illness, I also lost some weight and I feel like I've lost distance and my gapping is out so I've put the sensors back on my clubs in March, gathering data. Adjust my club distances and then they will go back in my garage.

Just off the course and that is my 3rd round with the Star Grips installed and so far I'm quietly impressed. The last 2 rounds I've been playing in the wet. Last Tuesday by the time we got to the 17th my club grips and towel were wet through so it wasn't a surprise that I was having issues with slippage. I think even with cord grips I would have been struggling. Today it started to rain at the 14th but I had my FJ all weather gloves with me so again by the 17th grips were wet but with the all weather gloves I still had a good grip. So much so that at the last my 8i tee shot pitched 6" from the hole rolled out to 4' and I holed for birdie.

Get yourself an electric trolley. Used one for the last 15 years and never looked back. Really saves the back and allows you to carry as much as you need in any conditions. There is also very little difference in calorie burn between electric trolley and carrying. Big plus on walking is you can walk the line your ball took, so if you don't have a perspective on distance travelled you have a better chance of finding. It also gives you a good view of your next shot if you approach it from the line of your next shot.

Ended up buying a new compressor. Convinced myself that this was the future for me. With 3 golfers in the house and me doing the re-gripping, I also like to experiment with grips and try new grips out so justified the $150.

The green grips are on the Callaway Epic Woods and hybrids, I picked the green grips to match the black and green heads and headcovers and also the Fujikura green and white shafts. Also matched my old Dritac that came off. My 5-AW Iron are Srixon Z565 so no real preference on colour but red does match my 2 summer cart bags which are Callaway red and black and Srixon White, red and black. I was originally going to match my wedges in with my irons but Star Grips sent me 6 extra grips of different colours. After I gripped my Callaway MD5 60° wedge with a blue one which matched the head design colour I realised this would've been better but only having one blue grip I opted for the vivid orange and pink for the 52° and 56°

I have always used tape and solvent but for the test moved to air. My experience is based on only the last 4 days I know some people have left the double side tape on but for me my thoughts were no. The big advantage of using air is that it is easier to remove and re-grip. Leaving the residue tape will make this a lot harder. On my first grip I tried to re-grip with the tape still on and gave up, it was still too tacky I then re-gripped it without any tape which was OK I usual re-grip with 2 layers of tape on a std grip but on a recent measurement it was indicating mid-size so that is what I have used I ended up using 1 layer of masking tape and slight wetting it with solvent, this gave me the easiest process to mount the grips If you have to take the double sided tape off, use a head gun or hair dryer to heat the tape and it strips off really easy.

All clubs gripped and Arccos sensors installed ready to go. First time using air, first club I re-gripped without any tape. Started the set by using masking tape and just wetting the tip of the grip with solvent to get it started, by the time I'd finish I was rubbing a little solvent on the masking tape for the length of it then slipping the grip on. This was much easier and gave me a little more lubrication to manoeuvre the grip for alignment.

This is a funny to some but sad to me story. I have a wide selection of Scottish Malts that I keep in the drinks cabinet. I'm not a connoisseur but I know a bit, been through several distillery tours in my time. If I opened a bottle I would try and keep half of it so that I could offer guests a wider selection. At the peak I probably had the best part of 40 bottles. Recently my wife decided she would tidy out the cabinet and asked me to finish a few bottles which I duly did. Laphroaig 12, Bunnahabhain 12, Balvenie 10, .... I finished off around 8 bottles in 3 weeks. One of them was this bottle of Highland Park I had received it as a present and thought it was just a nice Malt so I duly did what I was told, finished it and threw the bottle out. The day after It occured to me that the case was a bit strange so I goggled. To my horror I read what I just drank Did think it was better than the 18 year old but £1425 better. If I had known this I would have sold it.

Gripped my first club, 60° Callaway MD5 Wedge that I don't use and used one of the spare (blue)grips. Tried doing it by keeping the tape on but was having problems so stripped the tape. I felt a little uneasy that it didn't feel that it went all the way on but no movement on the butt so seems good. With the weather deteriorating over the next few days it will give me a good run at re-gripping the full set.

Bit the bullet, compressor ordered and on its way. Should be here tomorrow.

Grips arrived today. With a surprise extras. 5 green, 9 red, air gun and a selection of other colour grips. Orange and pink grips are really vivid and vibrant. Still not sure if I will invest in a compressor for this, $140 for a low end mains powered one???

A few years ago I went away with a group to Portugal to play golf. My wife was the only non-golfer. In the same hotel were a group of 10 from Glasgow. Every day we would leave for golf in the morning and my wife would laze by the pool. After a couple of days she got talking to 2 older gentlemen who hadn't gone golfing she asked "Do you not golf?" "No, haven't for years, but I haven't told my wife!" For 5 years he had pretended to play golf every Wednesday and Saturday, he would put his clubs in the car and disappear to the golf club for 6 hours. On the holiday he packed his clubs and then left them at his pals house, then continued on holiday without them for a week. Could you do this for a month never mind 5 years? Or maybe she knew and just pretended knowing it made him happy.

I usually do my main clubs every year, prior to the start of the season. Wedges, specifically my 56' might get gripped a couple of times, depending on wear.

Be installing them myself. Never used air before, so going to have to get a compressor but still going to do a couple with tape and solvent to ensure they are durable during the re-gripping process.

The Review March 2024 Star Grips – Official MGS Forum Review by Alf. S Intro- I’m a 63-year-old retiree based out of the West Lothian Golf Club in the central belt of Scotland between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Below is the short 18th looking over the Firth of Forth into Fife I’ve always loved golf from my early days watching The Open, The Masters and The Ryder Cup on TV to playing the game. From historical documentaries, my memory has been re-written to what my first memory of watching golf was but Tom Weiskopf at Troon in 1973 does stand out. I also remember being really annoyed that Americans' won all the time especially Tom Watson. I kidded myself and anyone I played with that from my teenage years until I got my first official handicap in my 40s that I could play off 18. But now after 20 years of competitive golf and some hard work I achieved a handicap of 5. I’m not a natural player but find a way to get it done. I play on average 3-4 rounds a week; weekly competition, Senior League, bounce game with friends and I’ll try and get a couple of rounds by myself when the course is quiet. What I’ll be looking at For me the feel of the grip is the most important, I like a nice soft feel to the grip. On the course I like to look good, and I like my clubs and my bag to look good, the aesthetics of the grips is important, I have chosen 4 green grips these will be for my woods and hybrids which are Callaway Epics with green heads and head covers and 9 red for my irons that will match more to my bag colours I’ll also be looking at the durability of the grips and looking to use air for the first time to re-grip but will also grip a couple with the more traditional tape and solvent. If they align easily This test has come at exactly the right time for me, I usually regrip my clubs at the start of a new season and sometimes my wedges twice. I am always looking to try out new grips and what they will give me. At the moment I’m mainly using Lamkin Crossline on my Irons, Crossline 1150 on my Wedges and Winn Dritac on my Woods and Hybrids. My expectations are that the Sidewinder 360 grips will stay on my clubs for the season and be my new Gamer. First Impressions (9 out of 10) The grips arrived packaged securely. Star Grips sent me an extra green grip and a selection of the other colours they support. In the box were: Nine red grips Five green grips One of each; orange, pink, blue, white, grey and black Installation Gun As the product name states the grips are 360° which means that there is no logo or alignment pattern on the grip. The 360° grips were originally developed to support adjustable hosels on woods and hybrids, with no alignment markings when the hosel was adjusted the grip still looks the same to the player. The only orientation indicator is on the butt and some subtle alignment nicks. The 2nd picture below also shows the grip identification as mid-size with the M and D either side of the alignment nick. The butt design is moulded to make the air gun snuggly marry into the grip The grips are slightly tacky and are sturdy to touch. The colours are vibrant and eye catching especially the orange and pink. My current grips are Lamkin Crossline standard size and I notice immediately that the Star Grip mid-size were significantly heavier; 49 grams compare to 68 grams. Comparing it to the Lamkin Mid-Size spec the grips are around 8 grams heavier. If you are swing weight sensitive then be careful. The grip weights also vary across the colours and specifications are shown below I am very proficient at using tape and solvent to regrip my clubs but with Star Grips pushing tapeless re-gripping and some pressure from my peer group at the club I decide to get myself a compressor and use the installation gun provided. I decide to try one of the spare grips on my MD5 60° wedge which is not in my bag at the moment. On the Star Grip website, it shows a guy taking 15 seconds to remove and regrip using the tapeless method, for a first timer like me this is wildly optimistic. For a first go I decided to take any existing tape completely off, I then cleaned the shaft with solvent and mounted it in the vice. The gun easily mounted on to the compressor pipe with the quick release fittings making a good seal. I just used the standard 6 bar setting and was ready to go. Some videos recommend dipping the neck of the grip in solvent, which I did. I also measured and marked the shaft to where the grip should slide to. With the club held in a vice I gingerly slid the grip on, then more aggressively. I did find it a bit of a fight for the last inch but made it successfully, Then out for a quick swing and feel, success. The grip was secure, feel was good and after a bit of apprehension on swing weight that too felt fine. For my first attempt it took approximately five minutes to regrip the club. Final Review Aesthetics (10 out of 10) If you ignore the eye-catching colours and start with the standard black grip the Star Grips Sidewinder 360° looks are very similar to what I would class as their major competitors: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 and the Lamkin Crossline 360. Star Grips have gone for a more understated look on the grip with no additional highlighted text or highlights within the grip pattern itself and a non-obtrusive logo on the grip butt. The other differentiation not surprisingly is in the grip pattern which is made up of a small “S”. Where Star Grips does stand out is when you look at the range of colours. The colours and classic look of the grips should cover the full gamut of golfers from traditional to the more flamboyant. The range goes from: Classic Black, Grey and White Colourful Blue, Red and Green Bold, Eye-catching Neon Orange and Pink The Fit and Feel (19 out of 20) As I did the full regrip my methodology changed, mainly due to trying to get the last 1/2 inch of grip on the shaft. I decide to use one layer masking tape on the shafts and evolved from dipping the throat of the grip in solvent to coating the masking tape to eventually filling the grip with solvent to wet the inside. Recently I had been looking at fitting data and had my hand measured, traditionally I was standard grip with two layers of tape, the fitting data showed I was more a mid-size. For the test I went from mid-size and was moving from std size Lamkin Crossline and Winn Dri-Tac to the mid-size Star Grips. If the swing weight data is to be believed (i.e. five grams in the butt of the club results in one swing weight) the difference should be at worse 3 swing weights. I personally couldn’t tell if there was much difference in the swing weight. I have a very strong left-hand grip and the wider grip did seem to feel more comfortable in my hand and I was doing less re-gripping at address. The grips feel soft in your hand but not spongy which I like. On The Course (18 out of 20) I’ve now used the grips for over a month, and I would estimate 12 rounds in various conditions and on the simulator at the course. I feel confident gripping the club and hitting my variety of shots. When initially delivered the grips were tacky to touch after a few rounds the tackiness is reduced but still noticeable after twelve rounds. Although I use Arccos it is difficult at this time of the season due to moving out of Winter conditions both for my fitness and weather to make any claims on performance benefits on moving to the Star Grips but anecdotally on my rounds over the last few weeks with Star Grips fitted have been more consistent, specifically my chipping and pitching performance have been +1 Strokes Gain (vs 8 Hcp) over the last 10 rounds. In the week of this post I have played 6 rounds, 5 of which have been at or beaten my handicap, a coincidence? I don't think so! The other areas I tested were using the grip in wet conditions. I had a couple of rounds where it was either drizzling or showers and the grips and my bag had water ingress. On the first round, Initially just drying the grips was sufficient to maintain a good friction between hand and grip. But as the round progressed and the conditions deteriorated and the towel became damp and hence the grips were damp it became problematic with the club slipping. On the second round I had my FJ RainGrip Gloves, using these I had no problem with slipping. This performance I think is quite normal and it is what I would generally see with my old grips. Perhaps the corded MCC might perform better but in my experience they eventually suffer the same slippage. As shown, I gripped my wedges in the neon orange and pink grips which certainly get noticed. Playing in the Boomer generation the comments were pretty derogatory but being from the same generation I just ignore them. The Good, the bad, the inbetween (19 out of 20) From my review it is all good, from the variety of grip, through the install and onto playing. The grips and air gun fitting were directly shipped to me with no problems. I watched the fitting video and also some other YouTube videos on using “Tapeless” re-gripping and had no need for support. But with the distributor being in Sweden getting local support in the UK maybe an issue. I noticed on the website that availability of some of the colours and the under-size grips were limited. I use Arccos sensors, these screw into the butt of the grip and give a tight fit but with the rubber being a bit more malleable I did notice that during the round I had to tighten sensors that were askew. Play it or Trade it? (20 out of 20) For me it is play, I’ve found it hard to find anything negative to say about the grips. In the UK they are very competitively priced at £7 a grip for the non-neon colours and £9 for the neon. This is lower than either of the similar Lamkin or Golf Pride offerings. They have given me reliable performance, so far low maintenance, tapeless install is straight forward. Conclusion Star Grips Sidewinder 360° single compound grips are a serious competitor to the market leaders in the golf grip market. The Sidewinder 360° is an eye-catching grip that is easy to install, feel is great, and quality is exceptional. The subtle markings make it a real 360° with only the most vigilant of golfers able to ascertain any alignment markings. It is hard to fault these grips and no matter what level of golfer, if you are on the market for rubber blend compound grip then it is worth looking at Star Grips. Final Score (95 out of 100)

GPS?? I think Google Maps is now better. The road from Glasgow to Campbeltown should be down the A83 (aka Rest and Be Thankful") but I know they have had loads of landslide and are planning to build a tunnel to avoid road closures, Even with it open it is still a long road. As for Ardrossan to Edinburgh, just wow. Why it would take you there, it is 10 minutes from the M77 then 25 minutes to the M8. I grew up just North of Ardrossan and played quite a few course down that way.