Back in the Saddle

I guess it is like riding a bike. It might have taken me an hour, but I quickly got back into the “golf” mode. Helping my friend Lou Cesarek of Mizuno Golf at the demo day was uber cool. The neat thing about Mizuno for the 2010 season is the Optimizer Swing Fitter. Swing the club, gather info and input into the computer and out pops your suggested golf shaft…it’s all about your swing and tendencies. Subjective decisions on shaft flex are gone…you actually hit the shaft that you would purchase. Now that’s a great use of Technology.

Impressive Stuff

A couple new clubs stand out. I was able to swing Wilson Golf’s new FG Tour Irons. Wow, I was surprised how clean they felt. They have a classic look from the toe to the heel. Their game improvement clubs were impressive as well. Thank god! Wilson has finally added some great clubs to their historic line…about time and kudos to the design team at Wilson.

Titleist has a winner in the 909H. I just love the look of this hybrid. It’s not overpowering and awkward looking. Can’t wait to take on on-course for a demo. I tested the AP2 iron…and it’s very nice. Titleist is a players club and it works for this player!

Callaway was a busy place on the range. I hit the FT Tour Driver and FT Hybrid. They intrigue me and will be testing them more in-depth. They also sported the TrackMan Golf Radar system. This might be the ultimate fitting tool. I won’t disclose my stats (open club face=power fade!) but I will say that the info provided is pure awesome!

Nike has a hot driver. I’m not a big Nike fan (love the shoes, not so much the clubs) but the new VR Tour Driver…um yes please. To say that I was shocked is an understatement.

The Mizuno MX-300 could be the best forged club for the widest spectrum of golfers on the market. The MP-62 with a Project X 6.0 shaft is so pure…think Greenland Glacier Water x’s 100.

What a great way to spend a March day. Thanks to Lou, Mark Clavey, Jimmy Michaels, Chris O’Brien, Billy Nestel and the cat from Nike (I forgot his name sorry). I enjoyed helping Scott (dude is 6′8 and swings smooth, good luck in Lexington) Brandon MP-52, Mike, Jim, Gary, Lefty, Shorty and Off balanced dude.

The set up will be for a typical Right handed golfer with regular flex shafts and a focus on forgiveness. I had a $300 budget to work with…this is what I found.

The Process

I started at all the online discount sites…I thought about buying new (older models) but after a few tries, I couldn’t get a set that I felt covered the gambit at a fair price.  I tried pre-owned manufacturer sites as well and again no luck.  I then went to Ebay. I chose Ebay because it is the largest auction site around, and I have an account, so I can see completed transactions. I used only completed sales, and they had to be of actual clubs, not photo’s of stock items…I wanted to see what I was buying. I also only used from sellers that had 100+ positive ratings. Those guys that sell a great club at a crazy price with two feedbacks, um no thank-you!

The bag I developed needed to have:

• Driver
• Fairway wood
• Hybrid
• Irons 4-PW
• Wedges in 56 and 60 degrees
• Putter

I wanted to make sure the clubs were an improvement in technology, both in clubface materials and shaft development. I also wanted to add a hybrid and ditch the longer irons.

Here is my ranking of importance in relation to the bag make-up

1. Irons-the set should be ultra forgiving, with perimeter weighting, and lightweight shafts, preferably graphite
2. Putter-The putter should have multiple directional lines. I also wanted something with feel
3. Driver-This needs to have a 460cc head, and an upgraded shaft. I focused on getting the ball airborne to maximize distance. It also needs to be forgiving, with a large sweet spot
4. Wedges-I’m trying to find something forged. Forged wedges have more feel, and give better feedback on our short shots. I’m sticking with a 56° and 60°  make-up. It’s a functional way to go. I’d like to have even more wedges, as the average golfer needs more help in the shorter shots
5. Hybrid-It needs to get the ball out of the rough and into play. It should feel strong, yet easy to maneuver.
6. Fairway Wood-Basically I’m thinking something that can be used as a secondary driving wood. A good hybrid should make the fairway wood a “lesser” option

What I found and built for $300

One of the downsides to buying on-line is that you have to spend money on shipping. Of my $300 budget, about 27% was shipping fees, but due to the low prices of some of the items I feel this is a wash. I also am leery of condition, so I needed to see a photo of the actual club. I searched Ebay and went through pages of completed sales. This is the outcome of the $300 Golf Bag Makeover.

Irons

Score! $129.99 + 15.95 shipping which was fair. These irons rock, and accounted for about 59% of the total budget prior to shipping costs.  The most important aspect of the $300 Golf Bag Makeover is the irons. The set is the Cobra FS  series and totals 8 clubs (4-GW).  The best part is that it includes a Gap Wedge! The clubs are Aldila graphite shafted Regular Flex. The condition looked about right for a set that is about 4 years old and used. The clubs have over-sized faces, and are perimeter weighted. These are quality irons and I’m glad I found a name brand, with a good reputation.

Putter

Second on my importance list was a putter. I wanted a good solid putter with plenty of scoring lines for ease of aim. I found a Odyssey DF990 in 35″ for $22.00. Odyssey is part of Callaway golf. The putter was about 10% of the budget. Again a great value for a quality product. I really liked that I could find a putter with an insert. The Odyssey Stromatic insert really started the rage of exotic materials used in face design. It didn’t come with the headcover, but since it’s already used…no biggie.

Driver

This was a tough decision. I mean we all love to grip it and rip it. Most people tend to spend massive amounts of cash on a club that gets used less than 15 times during a round…Imagine..you spend more per shot on this club than any other. So I needed to find a club that could get the ball airborne, and was easy to hit. I settled on the Wilson Spine Driver at $32.00. The main reason was for the shaft. It comes with a Proforce V2 graphite shaft. I feel that the V2 is better than most stock shafts, and if we need to, we can always re-shaft a different driver and save a couple of bucks. The Wilson Spine is not the greatest looking head, but it is 460cc has 10.5° loft and has a high MOI, letting the club get the ball up and going. I also got free shipping, which sealed the deal.

Wedges

Both wedges are Mizuno MP T Black Nickel, 56° and 60° of loft. I chose these wedges because Mizuno makes the best forged clubs, superior in feel. The fact that I spent less than$10 per club was silly (again without shipping charges). The 60° ($5.55 + 9.95 shipping) looks rough on the bottom, but this isn’t a beauty contest, and the fact that it’s a Mizuno and matches the 56°overcomes this flaw. My only wish was that the 56 ° had more than 10° of bounce. The 12° bounce model would have been better out of the sand.

Hybrid

This is the second best steal of the $300 Golf Bag Makeover. I mean this is a seriously fantastic club. It was sold for $11.00. The Mizuno CLK Fli-Hi has great feel, clean lines and gobs of performance. This club has some loft at 24° making it a great recovery club. It will also do a fine job as a “chipper” around the greens. It comes with a head cover, bonus! The shipping costs of $13.50 were higher than the selling price…unbelievable.

Fairway Club

Ok…every bag has its ugly sister, well this is it. I didn’t want to spend much money and it shows. It was sold for $10.49 and shipping was another $9.95. The fairway club chosen is the Adams Tight Lies. Now when this club came out it made Adams Golf. I think everyone bought a Tight Lies, basically because it worked. The thetrapezoidal-shaped club head and low profile gets the ball airborne. I spent under $21 with shipping. That is why it made it into the $300 Golf Bag Makeover…period.

Conclusion

Well I did it…I made a fairly nice bag for under $300 including shipping. All told the total was $289.82, which leaves me enough money to buy a sleeve of balls. What I find amazing is that there are great deals available for quality clubs if you look hard enough. With winter covering most of the country and the stinky economy, there are real chances to improve the clubs in your golf bag,  without breaking the bank.

So how did I do? What do you think of the $300 Golf Bag Makeover?