SirShanksAlot
Another week begins and we move another week closer to summer! Wow… that was some exciting golf over the weekend too. Tiger looks like he is back to his old tricks again! I found it funny that he cut his finger on his divot tool. How sharp is that thing? He might want to look at getting it dulled down a bit… just my little rant for the day.
Lots of emails… so like always that means lots of answers! We have been writing quite regularly as of late about the shaft in Adam Scott’s Titleist driver. Here is some more info for you! The shaft is called the UST Proforce V2. Right now the shaft is only available to Tour players and it comes in 55 gram, 65 gram, 75 gram, 85 gram and 95 gram versions. I don’t know if all of these will be available at the retail level. The shaft in Adam Scott’s driver is the 85 gram one… X Stiff with a 1.8 torque. This shaft has really caused a stir lately mainly because Scott has been one of the last guys to use a metal shaft in his driver… until now obviously!
Another email asking about the new Orlimar driver. I haven’t had a chance to hit this club yet but I like Orlimar and I like(d) their products… prior to their financial trouble. I used to play one of the old Trimetal fairway woods. I have a lot of customers that will not hit Orlimar again because they left a lot of people high and dry when they went under the first time. This company needs to get back to the grassroots level… don’t bother spending money on a Tour presence… go to the golf courses and golf shops and talk with customers. Get them to try the new stuff. Talk to them about past issues with the company. Build consumer confidence. Let consumers and retailers know that Orlimar is back and the past problems are long gone. Hmmm… maybe I should work for them! Haha. I will hit all their stuff and then post some information on here soon.
We get asked all the time if we sell golf equipment online… and the answer is no. We are flattered when people ask and tell us that they would support an online shop if we had one. Thanks! Actually the shop that I work at doesn’t even have a website… kind of ironic isn’t it?
A question about custom fitting… mainly lie angle. No problem! Lie angle is probably one of the most important aspects of fitting. A club that sits “toe up” at impact will force the ball to the left. A “heel up” club will force the ball right. This is at impact and has to be measured with a lie board. If someone tries to fit you without taking a swing then you are in trouble. I have seen lots of people set up with the club flat but the lie board test shows that they come through heel or toe up. Take a few swings on a lie board with different irons. Just because your 5 iron is 2 degrees flat doesn’t mean that your pitching wedge has to be. I usually get a player to hit with a 3,5,7 and 9 iron when testing lie. I have done lots of sets where the 3,4,5 may be 2 flat while the rest are only 1 flat. The length of the club changes lie too… so if you cut down a club you are changing the lie. Any club fitter will be able to answer questions for you… and if not… just ask us!
A good email about Hogan Golf. I had a chance to hit all their stuff recently and I am impressed by most of it. You can see a Callaway influence on some of the products… especially the BH-5 iron a.k.a. the Callaway X-14. The driver is solid… sounds awful but it works! The fairway woods feel really good and I wouldn’t be surprised if Callaway helped out a bit there too. Our reader feels that Hogan has turned the corner and is heading back to great things. I would agree. I know I have mentioned that I think Callaway Golf could dump Hogan but that is all just speculation. The product line from Hogan is good this year. I think it will help a lot having Callaway money and marketing behind it too. It also gives Callaway staff players another option (recently signed Thomas Bjorn hits Hogan irons). I think we all want to see a company like Hogan do well. Thanks for the email!
A few notes from SirPuttsAlot… Annika Sorenstam won his past weekend with a few new clubs. She switched to the new Callaway Fusion prototype driver and the X-Tour irons. Seemed to work for her!
Also this weekend… Ernie Els was sporting some new Vokey Spin Milled wedges (56 and 60 degree) and a Titleist prototype driving iron too.
Bridgestone Golf has sued Titleist Golf over golf ball patent infringement. The balls cited in the news release I saw were the ProV1, ProV1x, NXT, NXT Tour, DT SoLo and the Pinnacle Exception. The release also mentions that negotiations have been going on for months and Acushnet (Titleist) won’t budge. I will see if I can find more about this and will pass it on!
I think that is all for today. Thanks to all the people that wrote in. There are still a few emails without answers and I will do some digging and reply soon.