There's a New Big Dog

Practice Range
Mad Golfer Golf Club
114 Street Road
Southampton, PA
215/357-1622

Following up on last Friday's opening round of the season, I decided it was time for a new Driver. My Wilson Staff Smooth Driver, which came out at the end of 2008, has served me well over the past four-and-a-half years. But it was time for an upgrade. So before I headed to the practice range this afternoon, I went shopping for a new Driver.

Practice Range at The Mad Golfer

I have narrowed my brand choices down to Callaway and TaylorMade, so I went to Golfsmith in Willow Grove, Pa., to see what they had. I found a TaylorMade Aero Burner Driver among the pre-owned clubs. It was in excellence condition and was priced over $100 less than they were selling for brand new. I made my purchase and headed to the practice range.

TaylorMade Aero Burner Driver

I chose the practice range at The Mad Golfer in Southampton, Pa., to work with my new Driver. The facility sits behind a Dairy Queen. It has an upper and lower level full of hitting bays, as well as a grass area and a practice bunker. The practice balls, which are Srixon, were in very good condition. It cost $9.90 for a large bucket which had approximately 70 balls. I picked a spot on the far right of the lower level.

After stretching and taking a few swings with my Orange Whip Swing Trainer, I warmed up by hitting 15 sand wedges. I then uncovered the new Aero Burner and proceeded to hit 25 drives. When I made solid contact, I was hitting far down the range, either straight or with a draw. Several times I hit the netting at the back of the range on a couple of bounces. I then hit 10 balls with a Callaway X-Hot N-14 Driver, but I wasn't getting the same distance as with the Aero Burner. I hit 10 more drives with the TaylorMade club, before finishing off my practice by hitting six balls with my Pitching Wedge. With the Aero Burner, I did hit a few low line drives or quick duck hooks, but I think it will upgrade my game off the tee.

Photos by The Muni Golfer

Opening at Mountain View

Mountain View Golf Club
West Trenton, NJ
Yards: 3120/2997 - 6117
Par: 37/35 - 72
Rating: 69.8, Slope: 122
Score: 52/52 = 104
Date: May, 22, 2015

My first official round of the 2015 season took place today at Mountain View Golf Club, a Par 72 municipal layout just off I-95 in West Trenton, N.J. It is the second time in three years that I have opened my season with my first official round at this course. One of three courses owned and operated by the Mercer County Park Commission, Mountain View is a testing layout that is always in great condition. We booked our round through Golf Now and paid $44 with cart, but have paid as low as $31 in the past.

Mountain View starts off with back-to-back Par 5s, and has three one the opening nine. My swing was plagued today with a layer of rust, which I had a hard time shaking off. I seemed to be dropping my right shoulder on a lot of my swings, causing me to hit behind the ball. This is something I hope the rectify at the practice range and as I play more rounds on the course. My chipping and putting was also disappointing, but that is to be expected this early.

I opened with two 8s and had three "Snowmen" on my card for the round. While I did have two pars, at the 330-yard Par 6th Hole and 124-yard Par 3 16th Hole, I failed to make par on at least three other holes because I missed short putts. It got some bad that I actually started putting cross-handed on short putts during the back nine and my success improved.

Although I failed to break 100, overall, I was pretty happy with how I played. While it was cool most of the day, strong winds swept across the course severely impacting club selection and shots. For a stretch, it seemed like we were teeing off into the wind on almost every hole. I know my swing will only get better the  more I practice and play and this opening round gave me clues as to what I need to work on going forward.

Let the Big Dog Eat!

Practice Range
Bensalem Township Country Club
200 Brown Ave.
Bensalem, PA
215/639-5556

Once again, the long shadows crept across the practice range at Bensalem Township Country Club as I did a quick practice session in preparation for my first official round of the season. Like last week, I went with a specific goal in mind: to hit my Driver. My prior practice session focused on wedges and short irons to shake off the winter's rust. Last night, it was to hit my Driver before I unleashed the "Big Dog" while standing on a real tee box.

I warmed up with some stretching and swinging my Orange Whip, then hitting 15 sand wedges to loosen my swing. I hit the ball okay, but not as consistently as last week. Then, I hit 10 6-irons; again with moderate success. After a few more swings with the Orange Whip, I pulled the my Wilson Staff Smooth Driver from the bag. I teed a range ball, took my stance, made a slow rhythmic swing and sent the little white orbit on a beautiful trajectory towards the middle of the range. I hit 21 total tee shots with the Driver and the results were mixed: some wonderful shots, some pushed shots and more than a few duck hooks.

Overall, I hit 46 balls during my brief practice session. I think I rushed myself too much; certainly more than I did last week. And although it wasn't the nest practice session, I feel like it helped to shake even more of the rust that accumulated on my swing over the winter.

Tonight, I thoroughly cleaned my clubs in preparation for my first official round of the season at Mountain View Golf Club in Ewing, N.J. I will report to you on how it goes over the weekend.

My Golf Season Officially Begins

Practice Range
Bensalem Township Country Club
200 Brown Ave.
Bensalem, Pa
215/639-5556

Finally. For the first time in 2015, I struck a golf ball with a golf club. My season has officially begun. It is a little later start than I would have liked, but tonight I had my first practice session of the year. I traveled over to the practice range at Bensalem Township Country Club to hit a small bucket of balls.

I used my Orange Whip tempo trainer to loosen up and stretch out; something I need to use more frequently at home between practice sessions and rounds. I then proceeded to hit 10 warm-up shots with my Sand Wedge,and as the shadows slowly crept across the range, I that up by followed by hitting 15 shots each with my 53-degree Gap Wedge, Pitching Wedge and 8-Iron. I finished off my practice by hitting my 6-Iron for the last nine balls.

The First Bucket of Balls This Season

I used my align sticks to help with positioning, but I mostly concentrated on making a nice swing and solid contact. I took my time between shots and although I wasn't focusing on results, I was pleased overall with how well I hit my shots the first time out.

Using alignment sticks during practice

I hope to have at least another practice session or two at the range, followed by a practice round on a course, before hitting the links the for real.