Cashing In at Golf Galaxy

Again, because of commitments both foreseen and unforeseen, there will be no rounds of golf this weekend. But last Thursday, I did get a chance to go shopping at Golf Galaxy. Thanks to my GG Scorecard, I earned a $10 gift certificate. When you use your Scorecard when making purchases, you earn points, and for every 300 points you earn a $10 gift certificate. My latest customer loyalty certificate expired on Saturday, so I made my trip to Golf Galaxy.

I looked around to see there were any good sales on clubs, either new or used, but found nothing I would consider a bargain, even with $10 off. So I opted to pick up a box of Titleist DT Solo optic yellow golf balls, three Golf Pride VDR golf grips and a role of high density lead tape. Nothing very exciting, but all necessary items. I had lost four balls during my last round, so it is good to restock. I also like to have extra grips in case I need or decide to re-grip a club. And I often use lead tape to help correct my shots when I am fighting a hook or slice, or want to get a lower center of gravity on my irons.

The great news that recently came out is Golf Galaxy is combining its rewards card with Dick's Sporting Goods' Scorecard. Dick's has owned Golf Galaxy for several years now, and while both had customer loyalty cards that earned points, they couldn't be used at the each other's stores. Now, points earned at GG and Dick's will be combined and earned rewards gift certificates will be honored at either store, although I understand you only be able to use a GG rewards certificate at Dick's to purchase golf merchandise. Either way, it is a win-win for us GG and Dick's shoppers and something that was long overdue.

Beginning of a Streak?

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.

No Golf This Weekend...at Least on the Course

I didn't get out to play this weekend. A family obligation took care of Saturday and the weather, plus not feeling well, took care of today. I did watch the AT&T National and the Senior U.S. Open this afternoon when I wasn't napping. Tonight, I watched a great Golf Channel special, Greg Norman, Tips from the Shark, on The Golf Channel's On Demand programming. The Shark offered some great short tips, especially for chipping and bunker play, which I can't wait to try in practice.

Also, this past Tuesday night, I stopped by the Golfsmith store in Moorestown, NJ. I picked up some lead tape and a few Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips. I put a few strips of the tape on the heel of my hybrid clubs in hopes of promoting a bit more of a draw on my shots. And I like having extra grips on hand in case I decide--or need-- to make a change on one of my clubs.