Real golf club and equipment evaluations made by real golfers. No one is getting paid to recommend any products. If they are totally awesome and a must have, we’ll let you know. If the product isn’t worth spending money on….then we’ll tell you why.
Golf Equipment is a SUPER huge business. Manufacturers spend millions making us buy their product. We will give you our opinion for nada…because that’s the way we roll. Sometimes what you play is as important as how you play.
I’m somewhat biased. I play Titleist clubs. My irons, driver, wedges are Titleist. They make some outstanding products other than golf balls and are known for “player clubs”.
What I like about Titleist is that they don’t pretend to do something they are not good at. What I mean is that they focus on making top notch clubs for low handicap players. They don’t fill the whole spectrum of the golfing public with game improvement clubs. I always felt that Cobra filled that niche for them, and with the sale of Cobra…Titleist is focused on their highly recognized brand.
The Titleist 909H is a hybrid with a classic shape. I demoed the 19° model with a graphite Diamana Blue Hybrid Shaft. This is one of two stock graphite options available for this club (actually there are 12 shafts to choose from in either steel or graphite that are not up-charges). The Diamana Blue Hybrid Shaft is made by Mitsubishi Rayon and weighs in at 82 grams and 40.5″. The shaft has 2.9° of torque which is slightly high, meaning it will twist more than its counterpart in the Aldila Voodo which has 2.6° of torque. Overall I liked the feel of the shaft, solid yet responsive. The swing weight comes in at a D2, similar to most irons… about a swing weight less than mine. The 17-4 Stainless Steel head has a 455 Carpenters Steel insert on the face for added feel and punch. A factory installed SureFit Swingweight Screw lowers the center of gravity, allowing for easier launch. The bottom of the sole is plain and I like that. What makes the 909H nice for me is that it has a 0.5° Open Face. So many of the Hybrids have closed faces.
I love the clean lines of the 909H. It is simple and straight forward. There are no graphic designs, or material designs that make the club head look futuristic. The color of the head matches the classic smoked grey look of all Titleist Wood and Hybrid heads. I felt comfortable looking down…it’s a mini version of my Driver, so I have a familiar visual.
I used the 909H from the fairway, rough and tee box. In all instances the club performed awesome. It played above my expectations. Off the tee it had a medium-high trajectory, and I was able to hit my typical draw. From the rough I found that the club did not turn or twist, which is what I fight when hitting a long iron. That makes for a confident powerful swing, knowing that the club resists the twisting motion. Balls sitting down are easy to get airborne, more in the low to medium trajectory. My key shot with the 909H was into a difficult green..212 yards to the pin from the dormant rough. The wind was directly into me (about 3 clubs extra) and I flushed it. The ball barely wavered off line and stopped within 10 feet of my ball mark. That was my “wow” moment, I normally would have had to play a choke-down 3/4 wood shot, or try a punch three iron…I loved that a full swing, not over swung, with the hybrid gave me the option to attack the hole!
The great things about the 909H are that it has a clean look. The face is not overly closed, and it frames the ball well. The Diamana Shaft is nice, feels at home with the club head. Well hit balls go where you want them. The simple sole cuts through dormant rough.
If I have one gripe, it is a small one…The ball seems to “thunk” and not “click”. I know it’s a face material issue. I just want a little better feedback from the face. Even though the club is marketed as being longer from toe to heel, off center shots will not “feel” good. But I like that. I want poor shots to end up in bunkers or missing greens. That is great feedback for my swing.
If you are looking for ultra forgiveness then I don’t suggest the 909H, it’s a Titleist…it’s a Players Club. The 909H is looking like a solid contender for my bag but with a different loft and surely a different shaft.
Hybrid golf clubs have been the hot new thing in golf the past few seasons, and if you don’t own one, you should.
What is a hybrid?
If you have been playing golf for a while, you know that your long irons are the toughest ones to hit. The long irons (3 and 4) are difficult to [...]
Last week I went through a bag of travel brochures from the Chicago Golf Show, and I found a packet of golf tees. Now I’m kind of a purist, I like the old fashion wooden golf tees. Either bright white or natural. That’s how I grew up, and thats how I’ll carry on. Brushes…good for hair, not balls. Triangle prong do-dads look better on a show about I.M Pei than on-top of a tee. I guess that sandy tees are respectable, but there is something about wooden tees I admire. Fortunately I have seen the light and these packet of tees are not my fathers Oldsmobile. A company called Eco Golf, (located in Knox, Indiana) has designed a classic looking golf tee made from biodegradable materials. Which means that less trees need to be cut down to make traditional wooden tees, and they are very durable.
I’m not a tree hugger, but I am impressed with something so simple as the Eco Endurance golf tee. The Endurance tee is made from natural starches and a composite of resins. According to the manufacturer they will degrade in 3-4 years (um that is a long time…but I guess those plastic water bottles I use take like 3000 years so I’ll say that 3-4 years is very good) or if placed in compost 12 months. Eco Golf also touts that the Endurance tee will last 10x’s longer than a wooden tee and will cause less damage to mowing equipment. This is a win-win situation. By lasting longer, and causing less damage to mowers, this tee could revolutionize the game of golf!…well sorta. At least the Amazon forest won’t be supplying my wooden tee fetish.
I’ve tried so called “hi-tech” golf tees in the past. And none of them really did anything for me. I mean I like the feel of a solid piece of wood, and the bonus of having a ready toothpick. The shape and size (2 3/4″) of the Eco Endurance were similar to what I use, I would have rather played a 3″ tee but these were gratis…no complaints. I noticed that it was a smidge lighter than a wooden tee, but the savings in weight were evident while walking down the 18th hole. I didn’t feel as tired and had more energy!
The Eco Endurance tee did its simple yet important job. It held my golf ball, and fluttered through the air on my big swinging drives. Since the tee is not painted with a color, the bottom of my driver and hybrid demo didn’t show the usual paint transfer. That is great if you don’t regularly clean your clubs, but kinda limits the telltale signs of a poor swing.
As far as durability, the tee lasted me all 14 tee shots. Which is actually a very good thing. I have splintered many a tee in my days, so kudos to Eco Golf. The downside I see is on par 3’s. I usually look for wounded soldiers, those discarded broken tees. If everyone played the Eco Endurance, I wouldn’t have to hunt for the right sized temporary tee. Darn!
So if you want to be more green, and save some, then go out and ask for your club or retailer to stock the Eco Golf Endurance Tee. They come in stock colors (white, tan and natural whatever that color is) and custom colors can be ordered. The tees can also be printed on (mine were courtesy of the Holiday Inn Lafayette City Center) and purchased directly from Eco Golf. 1,000 tees for $45.00 isn’t too steep, especially if you only need 2 per 18 holes…thats like a lifetime of golf. Now I only wish the packaging wasn’t in a plastic bag.
During the 2010 Chicago Golf Show held this February at the Rosemont Convention Center I found another iPhone app. What made this app interesting was that it was a Video Swing Analysis tool. Swing At’em is the work of Pol Montano PGA member and Head Professional at Boone Valley Golf Club in Augusta, Missouri.
Relying on the [...]