GolfSpyt T's Round Report for 4/5/12

[Tony Covey MGS]

GolfSpy T's Round Report for 4/5/12

Sometimes the only thing to get excited about is an ugly putter

Course: McGregor Links, Wilton, NY

Holes Played: 18

Temperature: 49 degrees

Ball Used: Callaway HEX Black & HEX Chrome, Titleist ProV1x

Lost Balls: 3

Houses Hit: 0

Equipment Notes:

• Still waiting for my 2012 driver to arrive, so I put the Nike VR Pro Limited back in the bag. If the new driver doesn't pan out...nothing lost. The VR Pro Limited as a fantastic driver (even with a watered down 'Ahina shaft)
• Left the 64 out of the bag again in favor of the RocketBallz 3-wood. I've got a couple of wedge changes I'll be making this year. The big unknown is whether anything above 56* will find it's way into my bag with any regularity.
• Greens were rolling better, so I finally was able to get a sense of the Nike Method Concept.
• I decided since it was April I could break out the golf wardrobe. I wore the Hollas black Cord Pant and black Hollas Polo. I don't often wear black on the course (too hot), but on a cool Spring day it's not bad. Besides...the way I played, you could argue it was equally as practical that I was appropriately dressed for a funeral.
• Hard to learn too much about the two new Callaway balls. As expected, the HX Black is noticeably firmer off the tee (though the Chrome doesn't feel the least bit mushy). With the way I was spraying iron shots around I didn't want to waste them, so I went back to my grab bag off older balls.

Round Notes:

• Well the good news is I didn't hit any houses again. The bad news is I came pretty close...twice (one big hook, one big slice...I'm an equal opportunity destroyer of personal property - no house is safe).
• Though I didn't hit many fairways, I drove the ball pretty well, and more often than not found myself just a few yards into the right-side rough. Ball flight with the driver was excellent (high, and starting to the right), I just need to turn it over a little bit (and I'm hoping the new driver will help with that). The swing change is working, but it *might* be buggering my iron play.
• I'm really starting to like the Nike Method Concept putter. Yeah...it's not the most beautiful putter, but I'm finding that I'm able to get the ball started on the right line and control distances...even on longer putts. I'm not committing to anything just yet, but I may end up spending less time with the belly putter this year. Zero 3 putts on the day. I actually really like the damn thing.
• Here's everything you need to know about my iron play: GIR: 2. That's right...18 holes, and I hit all of 2 greens in regulation. Seriously WTF! At least I converted them for pars.
• Iron play was abysmal. I hit one crisp iron shot all day, and that was a layup 7 iron on a par 5. Everything else was dead right, and often low all day. When I'm not taking divots I know something is off, but it wasn't until 17 when I hit out of some deeper grass did I get enough junk on the club to identify impact. Low and Off the Toe (I actually topped a wedge on 10). I'm not going to over-think it. It's the first horrendous ball striking day I've had in quite some time. Some days you're just off, yesterday I was.
• Again no birdies, and only 2 pars (deplorable).
• Completely lost focus after hitting my tee shot into the woods on 15. The rest of the way was just a guy knocking balls around. I can't post for another 9 days, so hopefully I get this turned around. I've always said I'd rather have a low handicap and lose money than continue to play bad golf.

I'm going to look for positives in the improved driver results, and basically forget about everything else. Tomorrow is a new day.

[GolfSpy WD]

When looked straight on at just the face, the putter looks nice. It's the handlebar in the back that bugs me.

[Tony Covey MGS]

When looked straight on at just the face, the putter looks nice. It's the handlebar in the back that bugs me.

 

I don't really notice it when I'm putting, but what irks me is that it's next to impossible to scoop the ball with it.

[GolfSpy WD]

I don't really notice it when I'm putting, but what irks me is that it's next to impossible to scoop the ball with it.

 

I hear you. My old putter had a ball scoop in the back. While I love my new putter and how it looks, everytime I two putt to a gimme I get annoyed at it because of the lack of the scoop.

[Phana24JG]

GolfSpy T's Round Report for 4/5/12

Sometimes the only thing to get excited about is an ugly putter

Course: McGregor Links, Wilton, NY

Holes Played: 18

Temperature: 49 degrees

Ball Used: Callaway HEX Black & HEX Chrome, Titleist ProV1x

Lost Balls: 3

Houses Hit: 0

 

Been a while since I played there, but as I recall McGregor is not the most forgiving course in the world, so it is hard to score when iron play is that bad. On the bright side, striking the ball reasonably well with the driver suggests the iron situation is not a big concern.

[Tony Covey MGS]

Been a while since I played there, but as I recall McGregor is not the most forgiving course in the world, so it is hard to score when iron play is that bad. On the bright side, striking the ball reasonably well with the driver suggests the iron situation is not a big concern.

 

OB on all 18, and on both sides for more than a few. Basically, sometimes hitting away from trouble means hitting directly at trouble. I'm several strokes better on any other golf course around (with the possible exception of Saratoga National). Spraying the driver around will hurt you more than anything, but it's tough when you're not hitting greens...or more accurately, missing them by miles.

[Addicted2Golf]

Regarding the Nike Method...

 

I switched from a Blade putter to the Odyssey Sabertooth towards the end of last season. Best move I ever made. I used to suffer from the yips on short puts under pressure. The Tooth has pretty much put a stop to that. I'm also making more puts between 6 and 12 feet. My only issue is lag putting - it's sometimes hard to gauge distance on long putts.