Practice Range Bensalem Township Country Club
200 Brown Ave.
Bensalem, PA
215/639-5556
Due to reasons both seen and unforeseen, last weekend was a total loss for playing golf. My golf on Saturday and Sunday was limited to watching the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour and the European Tour from my recliner. Knowing that this coming Labor Day weekend will also be busy and exclude any chance of making onto the links, I decided to hit the practice range at Bensalem Township Country Club tonight to try as best I can to keep my swing in a groove.
The practice range at Bensalem
Armed with a small bucket of balls, I warmed up with my Orange Whip, then hit 10 wedges to loosen up. Then, as I did in my last practice session, I used a method called random practice where you try to simulate playing actual golf bu not hitting the same club twice in a row and hitting at different targets across the range. In hitting the 34 balls that were left after the 10 warm-up wedges, I hit A Driver, 4-Wood, Fybrid or iron off the tee, then a fairway wood, hybrid or iron off the mat. I would also practice chipping and pitching to certain targets.
A four-legged gallery watched practice in the twilight
My swing wasn't too bad tonight, and overall, I was pretty pleased with how I did. I am hoping to get back on the course shortly after Labor Day as I prepare to take my game into the fall.
The Fairways Golf Club
Warrington, Pa.
Yards: 2255/2248 - 4503
Par: 32/33 - 65
Rating: 62.1, Slope: 104
Score: 43/38 = 81
Date: August 23, 2015
Taking last weekend off after two consecutive rounds in the 80s the previous two weeks, I was anxious to see if I could keep the momentum going on Sunday. Playing my third consecutive round at The Fairways Golf Club, I teed off at 1 p.m.; teamed by the starter with a retired couple, John and Rosemary.
The Fairways Scorecard
After splitting the fairway with my opening drive, I hit a fat 7-iron that came up just short of the pond fronting the first green. I pitched over the pond into the right rough and chipped on, then made my putt for a 5. I had parred the First Hole the previous two rounds, but I was happy with the bogey as I headed to the Second Hole. After pulling my tee shot left behind a tree, I shanked a chip across the fairway, then ditched my next shot into the bunker which led to a 7. I was not hitting my irons particularly well, but I was putting well and managing to get the ball into the hole without too much damage. I made par 4s at the short Sixth Hole and the difficult Eighth, and a it was only a four-putt at the Ninth Hole that prevented me from shooting lower than a 43. Not as good as the 40 I posted the previous round, but a good score for the way I was hitting my irons. I could feel my game improving and my confidence building.
A par at the Sixth Hole got my round started
I opened the back nine by hitting my Wilson Staff Fybrid RS straight down the middle and had just a short sand wedge into the green. I two-putted for my third par of the day. At the Eleventh Hole, I again found the middle of the dogleg right and then hit an 8-iron to right side of green, where I sank the downhill putt for birdie! An 8-iron at the Twelfth Hole found the left bunker, but I blasted out to a foot for a tap-in par. I pulled my 4-wood left off the Thirteenth tee and then came up woefully short with my 53-degree wedge. I chipped on and two-putted for a bogey. Another 8-iron off the tee at the Par 3 Fourteenth found the left rough, but I chipped on a two-putted for another bogey. Through five holes on teh back nine, I was a mere one over par. At the Par 3 Fifteenth, I again found the green, and my 15-foot birdie putt just lipped out. My only real hiccup on the back came at the 323-yard Sixteenth Hole, where I pushed my tee shot right and out-of-bounds. My second tee shot found the left side of the fairway, but I went long to the back of the green with my gap wedge and three-putted for a triple-bogey 7. That put me at 4-over through seven holes. I hit a long drive at the Seventeenth, and my approach from the right side of the fairway found the rough left of the green. I chipped on and made my seventh par of the round. I again pulled my drive left at the home hole, then found the right bunker with my 7-iron approach. I blasted out and two-putted to finish the closing nine with a 5-over-par 38 and a total of 81 for the round.
A bad tee shot at the 16th led to a triple-bogey
The back nine was some of the best golf I had played this year, and had it not been for the errant tee shot at the Sixteenth and the four-putt at the Ninth, I believe I might have shot in the 70s. I am feeling very confident with my game right now. The move back to the Wilson Staff clubs has really given me a significant boost. While I did hit my irons somewhat poorly to start the round, my iron game got better and better as the round progressed. I look forward to continuing this streak of good golf as the summer starts to fade and the fall slowly inches forward.
After teeing it up for seven consecutive weekends, I decided to give my
body a rest. Despite consecutive good rounds the previous two weeks, the forecasts called for soaring temperatures and humidity, so I figured it was a good time for a physical and mental break. Although I didn't play any golf this past weekend, I did add a new Wilson Staff Fybrid RS to my bag. The Fybrid--which is 41-in. in length, has a loft of 19.5 degrees and comes with a UST Mamiya VTS Proforce shaft--is meant to be a bridge between fairway woods and hybrids that replace longer irons, replacing the 2-hybrid, 2-iron and 7-wood in the bag. In my
Wilson Staff Fybrid
case, it will be the bridge between my Callaway X2 Hot 4-wood and my Wilson Staff Ci7 4-iron. Wilson claims that their studies have indicated that the Fybrids' loft and length are optimal for hitting long shots from the fairway.
I purchased the Fybrid new online from BudgetGolf.com for $9.97. At that price, I couldn't afford not to take a flyer on the club. It cost nearly as much for shipping as it did for the club. I already have a Wilson Staff Fybrid RS 4-hybrid, which was in my bag the two previous seasons. Depending on how well the 19.5-degree Fybrid performs, I may replace my 4-iron with the 4-hybrid. I hope to test the club out at the practice range later this week before taking it to the course next weekend.
The Fairways Golf Club
Warrington, Pa.
Yards: 2255/2248 - 4503
Par: 32/33 - 65
Rating: 62.1, Slope: 104
Score: 40/44 = 84
Date: August 8, 2015
After finally snapping my run of awful golf the previous Saturday at The Fairways Golf Club, I decided I should return there this past Saturday to see if I juts had a lucky round or if my golf game was beginning to show signs of life. I only made one slight change to the clubs I had carried the previous round, swapping out my Adams Tight Lies fairway wood for a Callaway X2 Hot 4-wood. The weather was absolutely gorgeous--upper 80s with a slight breeze--as I prepared to tee off late in the afternoon.
The Fairways Scorecard
Hitting my Wilson Staff Smooth Driver off the first tee, I found the right side of the fairway and had only an 8-iron into the hole. Although I just missed the green to the left, I was able to two-putt for an opening par, just like I had the previous round! Because I had been hooking a lot of my shots with the driver, I had decided to put some lead tape on the toe of the club to see if that might help the problem and seemed to be effective at the First Hole. At the Second Hole, I over-hit my driver and hit a low fade that missed the fairway badly to the right. However I managed to recover, but a miss-hit chip led to a double-bogey. Another par at the short Par 3 Third Hole was followed by a bogey at the Par 3 Fourth Hole. Standing on the tee at the long, 372-yard Par 4 Fifth Hole, I was tempted to hit the 4-wood after the driver produced the slice at the Second. But I told myself to have confidence, so I pulled the driver and striped a beautiful shot right down the fairway. Even though I made a 6 on teh hole, I was proud at how I had performed off the tee. A three-putt bogey followed a poor tee shot at the Sixth Hole, and another three-putt led to a double-bogey at the Seventh. But I redeemed myself at the 355-yard Eighth Hole. Seeing the tees had been moved up 10 yards, I hit 4-wood off the tee and found the center of the fairway. I had an 8-iron into the green, which you cannot see from the fairway. I hit it to eight feet and sunk the putt for a birdie! Another three-putt bogey at the Ninth Hole gave me a 40 for the opening nine holes, one stroke lower than the previous week.
Some lead tape on the toe has helped my driving
Although I was playing well from tee-to-green, my putting was not as consistent as it had been recently. I was missing too many short putts. I could easily have shot a 38 or 39 on the front nine if I could had made a couple of short putts. This would continue on the back nine. In addition, I took two shots to escape bunkers on three different holes. But I was hitting it much better off the tee, especially with my driver. For the round, I hit 9 of 11 fairways off the tee; probably my best effort of the year. I basically played bogey golf on the back nine, except for two holes--Fifteen and Seventeen--where my bunker play did me in. I shot 44 on the back--four strokes better than the previous week--and 84 for the round. That was five shots lower than the 89 I had shot previously.
A Wilson Staff Fybrid will soon audition in my golf bag
Based on my last two rounds at The Fairways, it feels like my game is rebounding from the horrible six-weeks stretch I had earlier in June and July. I hit the driver much better and my iron shots much crisper. It is easier to play this game from the short grass of the fairway than the long rough off it. Although I will not get a chance to practice this week, my confidence level is up and I am looking forward to teeing it up this coming weekend.
Last weekend was the annual Greater Philadelphia Golf Show. Despite all the snow, ice and freezing temperatures we've had, the Golf Show is a time to let our minds, bodies and souls begin to focus on the fact that in another 4-6 weeks, we will be able to again roam the fairways and greens of our favorite courses.
I have not been to the Golf Show in a few years for various reasons, but I was determined to make it this year. I usually attend on Sunday, which is a time when vendors begin discounting what is already significantly discounted deals on clubs and equipment. But this year, Saturday was the only free time available, so off I went. Admission is only $10 and with that you get a year's subscription to Golf magazine. So even if you don't buy anything, you still come ahead.
Shoppers at RockBottomGolf.com's booth
The Golf Show attracts a wide variety of vendors offering everything from discounted clubs, apparel and accessories, to golf vacations, to golf courses, to golf memorabilia, to financial services, to even home improvement services. Some of this year's vendors included Golfsmith; RockBottomGolf.com; Golf Galaxy; Tee Time Golf Pass; Ocean City, Md.; Myrtle Beach; Mad Golfer; and the Greater Atlantic City Golf Association. The show also features a Demo Range, which offers the opportunity to try some of the latest clubs from TaylorMade, Callaway, Cleveland and Ping. Plus there are always golfing celebrities that make appearance, and this show was no different with the likes of golfing legend Chi Chi Rodriguez, The Golf Channel's Michael Breed, "The Putting Doctor" Joe Bermel, Jr., and PGA Nathional Teacher of the Year Lou Guzzi.
Golfing legend Chi Chi Rodriguez delighted with stories
My strategy for the Golf Show is to pick up information about interesting courses that I might be able to play and potential travel destinations, while also shopping for a specific thing, whether it be a golf club or accessory. This year, I had my eye open for anything from Wilson Staff. To that end, I picked up information about golfing trips in Ocean City, the Lehigh Valley, and Atlantic City, and yardage books for Fox Hollow Golf Club and Skippack Golf Club.
As for golfing equipment, my favorite online golfing retailer RockBottomGolf had Wilson Staff Fybrib RS's on sale, so I picked a 24-degree hybrid to replace my Wilson Staff Ci-7 4-iron. I also wanted to get a 21-degree, but all they had were models with a stiff shaft, which would not suit my particular swing.
Golfers could try the newest clubs at the Demo Range
My other purchase was an Orange Whip Trainer, a golf swing trainer designed to create rhythm, tempo and balance in your swing, as well as you with flexibility. The Orange Whip consists of a weighed orange ball on the end of a very flexible golf shaft, with a counter weight that looks similar to a golf ball attached to the shaft. The Orange Whip comes in three sizes and I chose the 44-in model, which is the equivalent to the long iron. The Orange Whip's inventor Jim Hackenberg a PGA Teaching Professional was at the show selling the trainers. Here is a video which demonstrates how the Orange Whip works:
Numerous PGA Tour golfers use the Orange Whip and if you ever see pictures of their bags on the driving range at various tournaments, you will see the distinctive orange ball protruding from their golf bags. One of the main reasons I picked up an Orange Whip was so few courses have driving ranges anymore, I thought this would be an ideal device to use to warm up and establish a a swing tempo prior to teeing off. I think will also complement any practice session on the driving range.
So now I have my new golf toys, my course information...c'mon Mother Nature, lighten up, get rid of this snow and give us that golf playing weather.
Fishers Glen Driving Range 4717 Fishers Lane Philadelphia, Pa 215/533-9466
After hitting the ball so poorly on Sunday, I was determined to visit the practice range this week. Although the skies were cloudy and it had rained off-and-on, I believed there would be a brief window this evening that would allow me to hit a small bucket of balls. So I made my way to Fishers Glen for the first time this season. As I expected, the placed was deserted. Undeterred, I picked my usual spot on the lower level--undercover in case it started to rain again--and began my practice. I took my Momentus Power Hitter with me for the first time this season and used to warm up, then attempted to hit some balls with it. And just like Sunday, I hit balls off the heel, and when I didn't do that, worm burners. After about a dozen balls I pulled out my Wilson Staff Spine Driver and hit it just as poorly. It was raining steady at this point and rumbles could be heard. I picked up my pace, hoping in the words of Carl Spackler, "I don't think the heavy stuff's gonna come down for quite a while." I switched to my new Wilson Staff Fybrid to get a feel for it when I made a startling discovery. I was swinging around my body. My swing has always been more effective when I swing more straight up-and-down. I started hitting the ball more solidly and straighter. Flashes of lightning were now illuminating the sky, so I quickly switched back to my Driver and hit about 8 balls with a more up-and-down swing. Suddenly, I was hitting it solidly , but with a slight fade. As the thunder boomed overhead and rain pelting down now, I decided discretion was the better part of valor and abandoned my spot on the range, leaving a half bucket of balls. As I quickly ran to my car with my bag slung over my shoulder, hail began to come down as well. Maybe I didn't get in as much practice as I wanted, but hopefully I uncovered a key flaw in my early season swing which I can now go about correcting.
I just picked up a new edition to my golf bag--a Wilson Staff Fybrid. Wilson touts the Fybrid as a bridge clubs that replaces a 2-iron, 2-hybrid and 7-Wood. The club has 19.5 degrees of loft and 41-inches in length, which Wilson says that studies indicate is the optimum loft and length for hitting long shots from the fairway. The club is designed to bridge the gap between fairway woods and hybrids in your club set-up. The club also comes with the UST V-2 hybrid shaft. Two-time Open Champion Padraig Harrington carries a Fybrid 5-Wood and 3-hybrid in his bag. I will probably rotate between this new club and my Wilson Staff FwC 7-Wood.
