What's in My Bag

Since it's "Labor Day," I though this would be a good time to write about the clubs I labor with on the golf course. In the right hand column of this blog, you will see a listing of the clubs that I typically have in golf bag. I though I would finally take this opportunity to actually show you "what's in my bag." Although I typically walk and carry  my clubs in a Sun Mountain Swift X stand bag, I put the clubs in a larger staff-type golf bag for the above photo. The clubs are:

* Driver: TaylorMade R9, 10.5 degrees, Fujikura Motore 65 shaft, 44.5-in, R-flex. I have the shaft set in the neutral upright position and 4-6-4 gram weighs in the toe, back and front respectively.

* 3-Wood: TaylorMade Burner, 15 degrees, TaylorMade RE*AX 49 shaft, 42.5-in, R-flex.

* 5-Wood: TaylorMade Burner, 18 degrees, TaylorMade RE*AX 49 shaft, 42-in, R-flex.

* 2-Hyrbid: Nickent 3DX DC Utility, 17degrees, Aldila NV 75 hybrid shaft, 41.5-in, R-flex. This club plays as a 2-iron and I alternate between this and the 5-Wood.

* 4-Hybrid: TaylorMade Raylor, 22 degrees, TaylorMade RE*AX 65 shaft, 39-in, R-flex.

* Irons: TaylorMade Tour Burner, 5-Iron through GapWedge, TaylorMade Burner 105 steel shafts, R-flex.

*Sand Wedge: Solus 4.1, 56 degrees, True Temper supplied Solus proprietary USGW-38 shaft, R-flex.

* Lob Wedge: Solus 4.1, 59 degrees, True Temper supplied Solus proprietary USGW-38 shaft, R-flex.

* Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG #9, 3 degrees loft, 34-in.

  My Sun Mountain Swift X Bag

 Photos by The Muni Golfer

Juniata's Fall Flavor

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2735/2070 - 4805
Par: 34/32 - 66
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: 47 (Front Nine)
Date: November 9, 2008

On a brisk, breezy fall Sunday afternoon, I played another nine-hole round at Juniata Golf Club. As I wrote in my previous post, I like playing in the fall, when the temperatures are cooler and the multi-hued leaves cover the fairways and greens. The course was again fairly empty as I teed off with Sam, another older Asian gentleman I met on the first tee. Sam and I managed to play around the front nine in one hour and forty-five minutes.

Juniata Golf Club Scorecard

One of my main goals during the round was to continue evaluating my new Wilson Staff Spine Driver I recently put in my bag. I used it on five holes Sunday and hit 3 fairways. Through the last 18 holes, I have used the driver on 11 holes and hit six fairways, better than 50 percent. So far, I have found that with a slow, smooth swing, it hits the ball long and fairly straight. I am interested in seeing how the driver performs with a softer golf ball like the new Wilson Zip. I'm hoping to pick up a box of these balls in the very near future. I am also liking my Sun Mountain Swift X carry bag more and more with each round I use it. It is so light, yet carries almost the same amount of clubs and accessories I had in my previous bag. Fatigue of my shoulders, back and legs from carrying my golf bag is no longer an issue when I hit the home stretch of holes.

Wilson Staff Spine Driver

Other than continuing to test my new driver, there was very little to distinguish my round. The conditions were pretty soft because of all the rain we had late last week and the fairways have become a little spotty due to the weather getting colder. This caused me to hit a couple of worm burners with my approach shots. The tees have also been moved all the way up in order to allow for seeding of the tee boxes.

Sun Mountain Swift X Carry Bag

Even though the weather is getting colder, the reshaping of Juniata Golf Course goes on. New paved cart paths are being added at strategic locations around the course and some paving and landscaping has also been done around the bridge over the Tookany Creek between the 9th and 17th tees. I'm certain that if course architect Ed Ault were alive today, he would be pleased with the changes taking place to his creation.

Photos by The Muni Golfer

Last Round of the Summer at Juniata

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2735/2070 - 4805
Par: 34/32 - 66
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: 46/41 = 88
Date: September 21, 2008

With it being the last "official" day of summer, and the Eagles and Phillies have late afternoon starts, I decided on playing a quick 18 holes at Juniata Golf Course. The course was pretty empty despite the beautiful weather, with temperatures in the upper 70s and brilliant sunshine. This was probably due to the Eagles playing the Pittsburgh Steelers at home. Teeing off at 2 p.m., I managed to get round the course in three hours and thirty minutes; just enough time to see the U.S. win back the Ryder Cup on the big screen TV in the clubhouse, then hustle home to catch the second half of the Eagles game and the late innings of the Phillies game.

Juniata Golf Club Scorecard

I played about the same as I had last week at Juniata, shooting an almost identical score. The only difference was this time, my stamina was much better. The highlight of my round came at the 5th Hole, a 360-yard Par 4, where my drive caught the downslope of the fairway about 200 yards off the tee and rolled down to the the 100-yard marker. I hit a gap wedge from there that came up just short of the green on the left front edge, but at a sprinkler head that's being fixed. After taking my drop, I chipped with a sand wedge and the ball tracked straight to the cup, hitting the flagstick and dropping in for a birdie! I also need to mention that the 12th Hole, which I reported last week had been converted to a Par 3, has been switched back to a Par 4.

Sun Mountain Swift Carry Bag

I used my new Sun Mountain Swift carry bag today and it was fantastic. The bag is so light and can handle 14 clubs fairly easily. Plus, it has plenty of pockets and space and held all the gear from my Sun Mountain Superlight 3.5 carry bag with out feeling as weighed down and bulky as the 3.5. By the end of the round, the bag felt the same on my back as it had at the beginning. If you walk, you should definitely look into this bag. One other change I made was my driver. Feeling that I was getting a little stale with my TaylorMade Burner, I opted to replace it with an old TaylorMade R580XD. The head is a little bit smaller, 440cc vs. 460cc for the Burner, but I hit it pretty solidly today and found the fairway more often. Although this may have been my "last" round for the summer, there is still plenty of golf left to be played this fall.

Walking is in the Bag, Part 2

Back in August I purchased a Sun Mountain "Mini" golf bag because I was looking for a lighter replacement for my Sun Mountain Superlight 3.5 bag, since I walk nearly 99 percent of the rounds I play. As I noted then, the bag was able to accommodate a full 14 clubs, but it was a very snug fit. Although I had planned to take this bag to Delaware, I ultimately decided to continue using my 3.5 stand bag on the trip. When I returned home, I ordered a Sun Mountain's Swift stand bag from GolfDiscount.com, which is a bit larger at the top. The bag arrived today and I transferred my clubs and gear over this evening. Although the Swift only has a two-way full length divider, it's 7.5 inch diameter--as opposed to 7 inches for the Mini--definitely accommodates 14 clubs much easier. And at a mere three pounds, it was super light once I got everything from my 3.5 into the new bag. I plan to use this bag during my round this weekend and will report back in a future post. I also plan on hanging on to the "Mini" bag, as I feel it will be useful for those rounds when I don't want to carry 14 clubs, when I play at a Par 3 course, or for a trip to the practice range when I only want to bring a handful of clubs.

Walking is in the Bag

As you know, The Muni Golfer feels that walking is an integral part of the game of golf and always walks when playing a round, unless forced to take a cart by the course. That's why finding a comfortable, lightweight carry bag is as important a piece of equipment as a driver, wedge, putter or golf ball. Sun Mountain makes some of the lightest, best carry bags and I have been using a Superlight 3.5 model for the past three or four seasons. The bag weighs only 3.5 pounds and has plenty of pockets, including one to carry a water bottle. Last week, I received The Golf Warehouse's catalog in the mail and they were featuring a sale on Sun Mountain's "Mini" carry bag. This bag weighs ONLY 2.65 pounds and the company claims it can carry a full set of clubs. After reading several online reviews, I decided to order one and it arrived today. And boy, it it light! It has ample pockets and space to carry the essentials for a round of golf: golf balls; a couple of golf gloves; a values pouch; a scorecard/yardage book holder; a small notebook; a copy of the Rules of Golf; a zippered case for ball markers, divot tools, Sharpies and pencils, a spike wrench and a couple of spare golf spikes; a bottle of Aleve; a small bag of first aid supplies such as band aids and allergy tablets; and a small bag of granola bars. It even has a water bottle pouch! The top opening of the bag is only 7 inches, but a full set of 14 clubs can fit into the bag, although snuggly. Completely full, the bag feels like it is hardly on your back, which should be a relief after 15 or 16 holes of a round. I will taking this bag with me to Delaware for a test drive and I will report back on how well it works.

New Strap for My Golf Bag

Two summers ago I bought a really great carry golf bag; the Sun Mountain 3.5L. As I stated on here before, I always try to walk when playing golf, so I use a carry stand bag. The Sun Mountain is great because in only weighs 3.5 lbs., has plenty of pocket space for accessories, as well as a holder for a water bottle. I recommend this golf bag to everyone. The only feature I don't like, is the EZ-Fit Dual Strap. I think it is modeled after the Izzo Dual Strap system, but it just doesn't work for me on this bag. I have pretty narrow shoulders and the loops on the bag that the strap goes through are too far apart for me, causing the inner edges of the straps to "dig" into my shoulders close to my neck. I had previously owned the Sun Mountain Lightning bag, which had a Dual X Strap system which I liked very much. It is comfortable and versatile, especially when you only wanted to slip the strap over one shoulder to carry the bag a short distance. I recently noticed the newer models of the 3.5L have the X Dual Strap. Well, the other day, I e-mailed Sun Mountain to see if the Dual X Strap would fit on the 3.5L model that I own. They e-mailed me back that I should call their customer service. I did, and lo and behold, the Dual X Strap will fit my 3.5L! I asked the customer service rep if I could purchase one through her and she said yes, they cost $15. So I placed an order for one. Better than paying $139 for a new bag! I can't wait until it arrives.

Walking

When I play golf, I always try to walk, unless forced to take a cart. I feel it is good exercise, plus, my game is always better when I walk. I am able to go over strategy, think about my next shot, and most importantly, carry ALL my clubs to the ball. This is especially important, since, if you get dropped off at your ball by your partner in the cart and only have a few clubs with you, you're limited to those options. Likewise around the greens; it prevents you having to carry a wide variety of wedges, putter, etc. from the cart and there is little chance of leaving a club behind.

I have a Sun Mountain 3.5L stand bag, which is great. It is very lightweight and has plenty of room for my clubs and accessories. It even has a convenient pouch for carrying a bottle of water. The only thing I don't like about this bag is the double straps. Because I don't have wide shoulders, it is too wide for me and after awhile, it begins to hurt my shoulders. I am going to have to look and see if I can replace the straps with something more suitable. If not, I may need to purchase the newest version of 3.5L, which has a better shoulder strap system.

Speaking of walking, my wife and I are trying to get into a walking regiment a few nights per week. I really believe this will help me get in better shape for walking when I play golf, and that can only benefit my game. Right now, we have been walking around Lincoln High School in Mayfair. It's about 3 miles around and takes us about 45 minutes, which is ideal.