Arsenal Headcover for Christmas

Mrs. Muni Golfer got me a great golf gift for Christmas: an Arsenal FC headcover for my Driver! The Muni Golfer has been a fan of the Gunners from North London since the 1970s, and I was lucky enough to tour their stadium in during a visit to London in 2019. The will nicely complement the Arsenal accessories pouch I already carry in my golf bag.

And while it may only be seen on a golf course instead of a pitch, the new headcover will proudly show my support for Arsenal throughout the year! Afterall, if you're gonna hit bombs, it helps to have an Arsenal!

What a Difference in a Decade

One of the more popular trends as the 20-teens ended on December 31, was to compare pictures of yourself from the start of the decade in 2010 to those at the end in 2019. Although I didn't do it, I suspect I kook a little older and little more gray. I decided that instead on comparing pictures of myself, I would compare what was in my golf bag at the start of the decade with what was in it at the end. Here is the comparison.

Driver: 2010 was split between a TaylorMade Tour Burner and a Wilson Staff Smooth. The Smooth Driver remained almost a constant in my bag throughout the decade until it was replaced last year with a Ping G400 Max.


Fairway Woods: In 2010, I started the season with a TaylorMade Tour Burner 3- and 5-wood and finished with an Adams Redline RPM 4-wood. In 2019, I used a TaylorMade M2 4- and 7-wood, before moving to a Ping G 4-wood for most of the season.

Hybrids: I used numerous hybrids in 2010, including Nickent, Elevon Tour and TaylorMade. My 2019 bag was home to a Wilson Staff FG Tour 3-hybrid and Wilson Staff V4 utility iron.

Irons: TaylorMade Tour Burners ruled my bag in 2010, while I mostly used Wilson Staff Ci7s in 2019.

Wedges: Solus 53- and 56-degree wedges were a constant in the 2010 golf bag. 2019 saw a combo of Cleveland (48-degree) and Wilson Staff (52- and 56-degree) wedges in the bag throughout the season.

Putter: The putter is the one area that stayed basically the same. I alternated frequently between an Odyssey or Snake Eyes putter throughout most of the season.

Golf Ball: In 2010 I used a Wilson Staff golf ball through most of the season. 2019 saw Titleist as the only golf ball in my bag.

So there you have it. While I began the decade as a loyal TaylorMade equipment user, I ended the decade with a number of brands in my bag: Ping, TaylorMade, Wilson Staff, Cleveland, and Titleist.

Ready for Another Round

Fairways Golf Club
Warrington, Pa.
Yards: 2200/2248 - 4448
Par: 32/33 - 65
Rating: 62.1, Slope: 104
Score: 45/40 = 85
Date: July 29, 2018

After a two-week break, I teed it up at the Fairways Golf Club for my 10th round of the season. I had only hit golf balls once during the break and I expected a little bit of rust when the round began. After parring the First Hole, I played some consistent golf, but couldn't quite put another par on the scorecard through the rest of the front nine. My putting wasn't sharp and I turned pars into bogeys and bogey's into doubles. I made the turn in 45.

Fairways Golf Club Scorecard

The back nine started much like the front, with a par at the short Par 4 Tenth Hole. But I was able to keep it going a bit better on the back nine, even with some trouble hitting my tee shots. I made additional pars at the Thirteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Holes. I would have had a couple of more pars if my putting had cooperated. A back nine 40 gave me a score of 85 for the round, and while satisfying--I didn't make a score higher than 6 on a hole--I know my score could have been even lower.

The 16th Hole where I made par

I had a few equipment changes for the round, some permanent and some as a trial. I will detail those changes in separate future posts. In the meantime, I am working on setting up a round for this coming weekend at a course that I haven't played in a few years. Hopefully, I can get it scheduled.

The Golf Show: Unofficial Start to the Season

The Super Bowl has been played, which means the calendar has officially turned to February. The focus of us that are golfers now turns to first early signs of spring. Nothing gets us more focused on that fact than the Philadelphia Golf Show, held this past weekend at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa.

To me, the Golf Show represents the unofficial start to our golf season. It provides us with the opportunity to dream about warm summer days, manicured golf courses, and the camaraderie of our golf buddies. The Golf Show gives us golfers a chance to shake off winter's rust and experience a cornucopia of golf equipment, courses and travel possibilities.

This year's Golf Show featured much of the usual: retailers such as RockBottomGolf.com, Dallas Golf, and Greater Golf Express; golf getaways to locales both far and near, such as Lancaster, Pa., Atlantic City, N.J., the Poconos, Ocean City, MD, Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Florida; free lessons from local PGA professionals and a chance to demo the latest equipment from TaylorMade, Callaway, Cobra and others.

For me personally, the Golf Show is a chance to seek out that elusive bargain on a new club or clubs that is going make my golf season one to remember. Or maybe just stock up of essentials like golf gloves.

This year, I was able to find a really good deal on Wilson Staff wedges from Greater Golf Express. Most of the clubs in my golf bag are Wilson Staff and even though they make top equipment that is used on the professional golf tours, it is difficult to find at golf retailers. Fortunately, I was able to purchase a Wilson Staff 52- and 58-degree FG Tour PMP wedge. They have already replaced the wedges I had in my golf bag.

The calendar may still read February and the weather may still be cold, but thanks to the Golf Show, my mind is ready to hit that first bucket of practice balls of the season.