Was it just me or did you get the feeling that Tiger was going to sink that chip on the 16th hole? I guess it is safe to say that Tiger is back (although he never really went anywhere) and it could be a sign of things to come this season. As for our picks…I picked Tiger back in December but that doesn’t really count. Let’s see… I had Sergio Garcia (MC), Mike Weir (T-5), and Jose Maria Olazabal (MC). SirPuttsAlot had a few guys that made the cut… Ernie Els (47), Fred Couples (T-39), Scott Verplank (T-19), and David Howell (T-11). We’ll call it even.
So I mentioned the TaylorMade Japan website the other day and the email floodgate opened. Lots of questions about different equipment from the various Japanese websites. We here in North America will never see most of this stuff. Companies have certain equipment that they release in certain areas of the world… customers are all different and want different things. Sometimes Japanese products are a prelude to what North American customers will get. Have fun, check Japanese websites but don’t expect to see most of the equipment in North America any time soon.
We are also getting a lot of email about certain club reviews that you would like to see. We are working hard to review these certain items and we will try to get to most of them. The new site should be up and running within the next 10 days or so and we will then start posting new reviews.
A good email from a reader mentioning the 2004 Nike Pro Combo irons and how they are a steal right now. www.tgw.com has the Pro Combo irons on for $399.95 US. That is a great iron for a great price. Looking for a really solid “players” club? You might want to look at these! Thanks for the email.
Another email in response to SirPuttsAlot’s Rant on graphite shafts. Our reader points out that many of the shafts mentioned are pretty expensive… more than many average golfers want to spend. If you are looking for a good shaft and a good price, I would look at the Grafalloy Blue. Another thing to mention here… if you are going to get an upgraded shaft, get it done when you buy a new club. It will be cheaper than getting it done later and you can see what shafts the company recommends for that particular club.
A quick update on the new TaylorMade putter with removable weights. The putter has now made it out onto the PGA Tour so expect to see some guys experimenting with it soon. I don’t know of any that were in play this weekend (I could be wrong) but I don’t imagine many guys would want to tinker during a Major!
The Callaway Big Bertha Fusion irons are getting a lot of looks at my shop. I was convinced that the price would scare most golfers away but I have had a lot of of questions about the steel shafted ones. Our hottest driver has been the TaylorMade R5 Dual. People seem to really like it and the fact that it is like 100 times more forgiving than the R7 helps too! Our hottest wedge has been the Cleveland CG10. Again… I thought the price would scare people away but it hasn’t. Our Cobra iron sales have slowed down because of numerous backorders. Why would a customer want to wait 3-4 weeks for their irons? Cobra says that all of their iron shafts are on backorder… how do you run out of shafts in peak season? All the big companies want retailers to do their ordering months in advance so they can order enough supplies to keep up with the demand. They have really dropped the ball here and have left many customers very unhappy!