Back to the Mat

Fishers Glen Driving Range
4717 Fishers Lane
Philadelphia, Pa
215/533-9466
Last night I made my second trip to the practice range as I continue to try and shake the winter's rust off my swing and my get my game ready to take to the course. I again selected a small bucket of balls and took up my customary spot on the lower level.

This time I brought my Momentus Power Hitter Driver with me. I wasn't able to use the Power Hitter much last season because of the forearm/elbows strain that hindered me through most of the season. I warmed up with some stretching, then swinging the weighted Driver. I then hit 10 lob wedges. Feeling sufficiently warmed up, I teed it up with the Power Hitter for 10 balls, before hitting 10 balls with my regular Driver, a TaylorMade Tour Burner. I then 10 3-Woods and concluded by hitting my last five balls off the mat with my 5-Wood.

Overall, I felt good about the way I hit the ball, making solid contact about 80 percent of the time. I also worked on my pre-shot routine, swing thoughts and tempo. I tried to focus more on these aspects than on the results of my shots, but overall, I think I hit the ball really well for the second practice session.

I think I might go to Juniata Golf Course and work on putting and chipping for my next practice session. I'm shooting for early April to play my first official practice round on the golf course.

Back to the Practice Tee

Fishers Glen Driving Range
4717 Fishers Lane
Philadelphia, Pa
215/533-9466

Ben Hogan once said the secret to his game was in the dirt. After playing what I thought was a terrible game off the tee last Sunday at Bensalem Township Country Club, I headed back to the practice range at Fishers Glen hoping to find the secret on the astro-turf mats. I used my homemade 'T' square to help with alignment as I hit a small bucket of about 45 balls, hoping to re-groove my swing off the tee. I warmed up with a few sand wedges, then alternated five balls a piece between my Momentus Power Hitter and TaylorMade Burner Driver. I also hit seven 3-Woods off the matt, as well as five a piece between my 2- and 4-Hybrids. I think using the Power Hitter helped settle my tempo, which had definitely gotten too fast on Sunday. Overall, I struck the ball pretty well tonight and regained some of my confidence.

Moving Outside My Usual Range

Burholme Golf Center
401 Cottman Avenue
Philadelphia, Pa
215/742-2380

Once again this week I ventured to the driving range to hit a small bucket of golf balls. This time, I found myself at the Burholme Golf Center because Fishers Glen had run out of available golf balls. It seems their golf ball picker was broken and they couldn't pick up the balls off the range. Burholme is a nice facility, with numerous hitting bays -- including about a dozen under cover; a miniature golf course; batting cages and a pro shop. There is a real family atmosphere at Burholme and it is quite popular, particularly the driving range and batting cages. Because of this popularity, the range balls at Burholme tend to be a bit more worn, but they do keep the facilties in pretty good shape. A small bucket of balls is $5 and you often have to wait for a hitting bay to open up. Because of the overcast skies, it wasn't as crowded as I have come to expect and I had a choice of several locations.

After stretching and warming up with my Speed Stik, I hit five wedges, then proceeded to alternate five balls a piece between my Power Hitter and my TaylorMade Burner Drive. After two sets of each, I finished with seven 3 woods off the mat. I think I need to plan and organize my sessions at the range a little better, but at least I'm rounding my body and swing in shape as I start playing more rounds. This is already the third time I've been to the practice range this season, which is about two more times than I went all last season.

Home, Home Again on the Range

Fishers Glen Driving Range
4717 Fishers Lane
Philadelphia, Pa
215/533-9466

Hoping to get a nine-hole practice round in on Sunday morning, I ventured over to Juniata Golf Club, only to find the course booked with an outing. So tonight, I headed back to Fishers Glen Driving Range and hit another small bucket of golf balls. Armed with my golf bag full of clubs this trip, I took up my isolated spot on the lower level of the range. After stretching out and loosening up with my Speed Stik, I started out by hitting 10 balls with my lob wedge. From there, I worked my way up the bag, hitting 5 balls each with my pitching wedge, 8 iron, 6 iron, 4 hybrid, 3 wood and Momentus Power Hitter. I capped off my range session by hitting four balls with my TaylorMade Burner Driver. In between the 6 and 8 irons, and the 3 wood and Power Hitter, I took 10 swings with the Speed Stik. My last ball, hit with my driver, was crushed; I couldn't see it land at the far left end of the range. As I worked my way up the bag, I felt I was beginning to make more consistent contact and hitting the ball better. This weekend, I plan to play my first full 18 holes of the season.

Home, Home at the Range

Fishers Glen Driving Range
4717 Fishers Lane
Philadelphia, Pa
215/533-9466

Needing to shake some of the rust off my game, I headed over to Fisher Glen Driving Range in the Juniata section of Philadelphia. The range is at the end of Fishers Lane, a road that was closed off to through traffic when the driving range was constructed sometime in the late-1980s, early-1990s. Fishers Glen will not remind you of the pristine practice range at your local country club. It looks and feels more like the West Texas driving range operated by Roy McAvoy in the movie "Tin Cup." It cost $5 for a small bucket of 50 golf balls which where anything but range balls. The Muni Golfer found a wide assortment of used golf balls at his hitting disposal, including Titleists, Maxflis, Callaways, Nikes, Top-Flites and Wilson Ultras. The side nets that kept severely sliced or hooked balls from leaving the range were a bit tattered, but in the end, none of that mattered as Fishers Glen had golf balls, mats, plastic tees and a wide-open space where you could hit those golf balls.

I warmed up by stretching with my Speed Stik, then used it to take some looooong, sloooow swings. I then hit a 10 easy chips and pitches with my Momentus Short Game Wizard lob wedge. Feeling loosened up, I moved to my new Momentus Power Hitter and hit five tee shots. Because of the weight of this club, you are forced to take slower swings, which helps to build an even tempo. I was very impressed. The club didn't feel overly heavy and the ball went pretty straight. I then switched to my regular driver--a TaylorMade Burner--and trying to keep that same swing and tempo, hit five more tee shots. I was surprised how solidly I hit the ball. My tee shots were medium to high and either straight or with a slight fade. I kept switching from the Power Hitter to my TaylorMade driver after every five tee shots. By the third set of five with the Power Hitter, I was feeling just a bit in my lower back, a sure sign I haven't yet built up my golfing muscles in that area. And a couple of the tee shots had a slight fade on them. I finished with ten tee shots with my regular driver and hit five more wedge shots to cool down.

My initial impressions of the Power Hitter were positive. It definitely slows your swing down to a nice even tempo. I look forward to working with it on a more regular basis. And I also look forward to returning to Fishers Glen. It may not scream country club and luxury, but it definitely has that blue collar, muni golf atmosphere.

A Test to Look Forward to and Something Heavy

The Muni Golfer is a member of the PGA Tour Partners Club and one of the perks of membership is being called on test different equipment from time-to-time. Yesterday, I received my latest test assignment: Bridgestone's new e6+ golf balls. As a tester, you are asked to play or use the assigned equipment as soon as possible, weather permitting. Once you have done that, you fill out a Product Test Report form, giving your review of this product. Using these reports from fellow testers, the product is later reviewed in the PGA Tour Partners magazine. I will give you an advanced peek of my review once my testing is complete.

I have also order the Power Hitter Driver from Momentus Golf. It is a hittable weighted practice driver that helps you obtain distance and accuracy off the tee. I order the 275 model, which has a 275 gram club head, combined with a 200 gram shaft. This model is designed for golfers with a club head speed between 85-110 mph. The Power Hitter is endorsed by Long Driving Champion Sean "The Beast" Fister, and is used on the practice range by a number of Tour Pros, most notably Vijay Singh. The Power Hitter also comes with a an instructional DVD, as well as a DVD of driving tips from Fister. As a bonus, Momentus is including the Short Game Wizard lob wedge, which has a 175 gram shaft and is designed to help you develop touch, control and accuracy with your wedges, bunker shots and short game. And they are legal to play with! While I probably replace my current Solus wedges with the Short Game Wizard, I will use it for practice.

In addition to the Power Hitter, I also ordered Momentus Golf's EEZ-READ, a small device that can be used to read the break on the greens. According to Momentus Golf's Web site, EEZ-READ is "a high accuracy 'bubble level' attached to a watchmaker's grade stainless steel disc that's sturdy enough to provide a quick reading of the green's contours, yet lightweight enough to carry in your pocket during play. It is intended to help golfers on putts with subtle or confusing breaks and works best on putts within 20 feet of the hole." While it is illegal to use in competition or in posted rounds, it will again be a help during practice rounds.

Time to Get in Golf Shape

The weather and my schedule hasn't been cooperating quite enough to get out and start hitting balls, but it is time to start getting in golf shape for the coming season. This weekend I dug out two of my golf training aids: the Speed Stik and the Momentus Swing Trainer.

While I've heard a lot of pros and cons about the Speed Stik, let me first say that I purchased mine with part of a $500 Golfsmith gift card I won from Golf Digest a couple of years ago, so it was more like a gift. And while I can't vouch for the speed gauge and whether I'm swinging faster of not, I will tell you that I find the Speed Stik to be excellent for warming up and stretching before a round of golf. It also make an excellent alignment aid when hitting golf balls at the practice range. Whenever you look at the pictures of the PGA tour pros' golf bags on the various golf sites, you always see a Speed Stik is several of the bags. Of course, it is endorsed and used by Tour Pro Vijay Singh, who uses the Speed Stik and a variety of other 'home-made' training devices during his hours of relentlessly hitting balls on the practice range.

I also like to use the Momentus Swinger Trainer to get my golfing muscles in shape before the season and to keep them stretched out during the summer. The Swing trainer is endorsed and used by PGA Tour Pro Fred Funk. I have replaced the training grip on mine with a traditional grip which I like better. I'll probably do about 3 sets of 10 swings every other day to get the feeling of swinging a golf club again, stretch out and condition my shoulders and arms, and hopefully groove a swing before the season starts. I am also looking at purchasing one of the new Momentus PowerHitter Drivers that I can take to the practice range. You can actually hit balls with this weighted driver in order to add distance as well as accuracy to your tee shots.

And now that daylight savings time has begun, I plan to start walking several evenings a week with my wife to get my legs in shape for the golf swing, as well as walking the golf course.

Preparing for My Annual Golf Getway

Every year during Labor Day week, my wife and I escape to the beautiful Delaware seashore. For my wife, it means taking a beach chair and a book and heading to the white, sandy beach while enjoying the sun, the wind and the surf. For me it means GOLF! I play play 3-4 rounds during the week, starting with traditional Labor Day weekend outing with a few of my cousins who will also be vacationing at the Delaware shore. Two courses that I am almost assured I will be playing during that week are Marsh Island and The Rookery. I am undecided whether to make a trek to Ocean City, Md. to play one of the numerous outstanding courses there, although I am leaning towards another visit to Pete Dye's Rum Pointe, a nice, but difficult, links-style course. Or I could head north towards Dover and try Jonathan's Landing Golf Course, a 27-Hole inland Sottish links-style layout.

Since the trip is only two weeks away, I have begun preparations by fashioning a golf packing list. Among the items I will be taking with me:

* TaylorMade Burner Driver
* Golfsmith XPC Plus 3-Wood
* Golfsmith XPC3 5-Wood
* Nickent 3DX DC Utility
* Elevon Hybrid
* Alpha RX 4, 5 and 6 Hybrids
* TaylorMade 200 Irons
* Solus Wedges
* Odyssey XG #9 Putter
* TaylorMade r7 460 Driver (Backup)
* Carbite B4 Putter (Backup)
* 2 Dozen Maxfli Golf Balls
* 3 Golf Gloves
* 2 Pair Golf Shoes
* 2 Collared Golf Shirts
* 2 Mock Polo Golf Shits
* 3 Pair Golf Shorts
* 4 Pair Golf Socks
* Wind/Rain Shirt and Vest
* 2 Golf Visors
* 2 Golf Hats
* Sun Tan Lotion
* Granola Bars
* Speed Stik
* Momentus Swing Trainer

The packing list is complete and beginning next week I will start to put the pieces together for this annual golf getaway. I will make sure the shirts and shorts I want to take have been washed, clean all my clubs, change the spikes in my golf shoes and mark the golf balls. It may seem like a lot, but I believe in being ready and prepared for 3-4 rounds over eight days. I'll report on the courses I played, and how I played, when I return.