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.

Bouncing Back?

Fairways Golf Club
Warrington, Pa.
Yards: 2200/2248 - 4448
Par: 32/33 - 65
Rating: 62.1, Slope: 104
Score: 49/42 = 91
Date: June 29, 2018

Hoping to bounce back from the mental meltdown I experienced the previous week at the Fairways Golf Club, I teed it up at the course again this past week. In hoping to change my score, I made several changes to my bag for this round: I replaced my Wilson Staff Driver and Golfsmith 5-Wood for a Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Driver and X Hot 7-Wood, respectively, as well as subbing a 56-degree Solus sand wedge for the Wilson Staff 58-degree wedge I had been carrying. I also went back to a Titleist NXT ball from the Pro V1 I had struggled with the prior round.

Fairways Golf Club Scorecard

These changes seemed to have little impact on the front nine, as I made an 8, 3 7s and a 6 in shooting a 49--one stroke worse than the front nine the week before. I did, however, manage to make par at two of the four Par 3s on the front nine. I also discovered that my swing was getting more around my body instead to more up-and-down.

Standing on the Tenth tee, I kept one swing thought: swing more up-and-down. I also was determined to have a better mental focus than I had the previous. It resulted in a back nine 42, which is certainly better than the previous round, but still not good enough. I did make two pars and had par putts on five of the other seven holes. If my putting had been a little better, I could have easily shot in the 80s, instead of the 91 I posted.

Overall, I played better than the previous round, but I am still searching for the consistency I had earlier. I think the discovery about my swing plane could help, as will the change in equipment. But I need to get back the short game and putting that helped me open the season so well.

Moving forward, the Callaway clubs will stay in the bag and I will also replace the Golfsmith XPC Plus 3-Wood with a Callaway X Hot2 4-Wood. The Solus sand wedge will be replaced by a new Wilson Staff 56-degree FG Tour PMP 56-degree wedge. And my Odyssey #9 will be removed in favor of another Odyssey putter, an original Rossie II. These changes will be tested this coming Sunday when I tee it up at a new course in Delaware: Mulligan's Pointe in Georgetown.

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.

Muni Golfer's Darrell Survey

At every PGA, LPGA, Champions, Nationwide and Japanese PGA Tour event, I representative of the Darrell Survey stands on the 1st and 10th tees during the tournaments first round and records the equipment being used by each golfer in the field. This information is then compiled into a weekly and yearly report that is sent to subscribing golf equipment companies. The companies use this information to monitor that their staff players are adhering to their contracts, as well as using the information in print and broadcast advertising. So when TaylorMade claims it is the #1 Driver on the PGA Tour or Titleist says it is the #1 one ball in golf, it is thanks to the data collected by the Darrell Survey.

While no one from the Darrell Survey has ever looked in my bag before I started a round of golf, I do keep a record of the equipment I use during every round I play each year. So here then is my version of what the Darrell Survey's year end report would have contained for the Muni Golfer for the 2011 season. In the 13 rounds I played last year, I used one driver, seven fairway woods, 3 hybrids, one 4-iron, two sets of irons (5-GW), three wedges, four putters, seven golf balls and three golf gloves.

Here's a breakdown:

Drivers:
Wilson Staff Smooth

 Fairway Woods:
Adams Redline RPM 4-wood, Sonartec SS-07 4-wood, TaylorMade Burner 3-wood, TaylorMade Burner 5-wood, Adams Fast 10 3-wood, Adams Fast 10 5-wood, Golfsmith XPC Plus 4-wood

Hybrids:
Tommy Armour 845, TaylorMade Raylor

4-iron:
TaylorMade r7 CGB

Irons (5-GW):
TaylorMade Burner, Wilson Staff Ci-7s

Wedges:
Solus 53-degree, Solus 56-degree, Solus 59-degree

Putters:
Odyssey White Hot XG #9, Odyssey White Hot Tour #9, Odyssey White Hot Rossie, Snake Eyes MCS-2

Golf Balls:
Maxfli Revolution, Maxfli Fire, Wilson Staff Zip, Titleist Prototype #1, Titleist Prototype #2, Titleist NXT, Titleist DT SoLo

Golf Gloves:
adidas Exert, FootJoy Sta-Soft, FootJoy SciFlex

What was in the Bag: 2009

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I am a regular equipment junkie. Clubs, balls and gloves find their way in and out of my bag fairly often. Last year, as part of my year in review for 2008, I did my own version of the Darrell Survey by examining all the equipment I played with in 2008. For those of you who don't know what the Darrell Survey is, it is an independent company that for the past 70-plus years has been checking the equipment of each golfer at a Tour event, whether it be the PGA Tour, Champions Tour, Nationwide Tour LPGA, European Tour or other professional tournaments. The information is compiled into a weekly report for the various golf equipment companies. They also used to produce a yearly almanac of equipment usage by the pros.

I had so much fun doing it last year that I decided to do it again for 2009. So here is The Muni Golfer's version of the Darrell Survey for last year. During the nearly 25 regulation and practice rounds I played last season, I used 5 Drivers, 6 Fairway Woods, 11 Hybrids, 5 different models of Irons, 3 Wedges, 5 Putters, 7 different models of Golf Balls and 5 different versions of Golf Gloves. They represented 14 different equipment companies. I also worn PGA Tour Golf Shirts and adidas Golf Shoes.

In true Darrell Survey fashion, here is a breakdown of the equipment in The Muni Golfer's bag during 2009:

Drivers:
Wilson Staff Spine
TaylorMade 360XD
TaylorMade Burner
TaylorMade Tour Burner
Tommy Armour 845 Stripe
















Fairway Woods:
TaylorMade Burner 3-Wood
Golfsmith XPC Plus 3-Wood
Sonartec 4-Wood
Golfsmith Big Gun 5-Wood
TaylorMade 300 7-Wood
Wilson Staff FwC 7-Wood

















Hybrids:
Alpha Golf Rx 4
Wilson Staff Fybrid
Elevon Tour
Nickent 3DX DC Utility 3+
Nickent 3DX DC Utility 3
Nickent 3DX DC Utility 4
Nickent 3DX DC 3
Nickent 3DX DC 4
Nickent 3DX Ironwood 2+
Nickent 3DX Ironwood 4+
TaylorMade Raylor 4H











Irons:
Wilson Staff Di7s
TaylorMade 200s
TaylorMade LCGs
TaylorMade Tour Burners
TaylorMade r7 CGB 4-Iron

















Wedges:
Solus 4.1 53-degree
Solus 4.1 56-degree
Solus 4.1 59-degree

















Putters:
Odyssey White Hot XG-9
Odyssey White Hot Rossie
Never Compromise Z/I Omega
Carbite B-4
Snake Eyes MCS2

















Golf Balls:
Wilson Staff 50
Wilson Staff Zip
TaylorMade Burner
Maxfli Fire
Titleist NXT
Titelist HP
Titleist DT














Golf Gloves:
Wilson Advantage
Wilson Staff Pro Soft
TaylorMade React
Taylor Made Tour Ltd.
FootJoy SofJoy

Santa Checked His List And....

When I checked under the Christmas tree yesterday I found that Santa Claus had left me a box of Titleist NXT Tour golf balls. Actually, it was my in-laws who gave me the golf balls, but Santa must have whispered it to them since they were on my list the Jolly Old Elf. Thanks Santa! I can't wait until the spring gets here to use them.

Dear Santa...

I've made my list and hopefully Santa has checked it twice. Hopefully tonight that Jolly Old Elf will leave a few of my golf-related Christmas list items under my tree. This year I asked Santa for a gift card to Dicks Sporting Goods or Golf Galaxy, some Titleist NXT golf balls and some Clif Bars for my golf bag. Although my golf game was more naughty than nice this past year, I think Santa might leave a couple of these items. As the Chipmunks sing: "We can hardly stand the wait, please Christmas don't be late!"

Prepping for Golf in Delaware

As the Labor Day Holiday fast approaches, it's time to start prepping for my annual golf trip to Lewes, Delaware. While my wife hits the beach with a good book, I'll be hitting the links with my clubs. First up will my annual outing with my cousins on Friday. The past two years we've played at Baywood Greens. This year I'm hoping we try a different course. The Rookery or Bear Trap Dunes are two possibilities. Either way, I will probably play four rounds over the seven days I'm there. The Rookery will definitely be on my itinerary one way or another. I may return to Jonathan's Landing near Dover or head south to one of the numerous courses in Ocean City, Md.

The Lewes Beach (above) and
the Fourth Hole at The Rookery (below)

So far, I have changed the spikes in two pair of golf shoes and marked two dozen golf balls in preparing for the trip. My packing list also includes:

* TaylorMade Burner Driver
* TaylorMade Burner 3 Wood
* Golfsmith Big Gun 5 Wood
* Nickent 3DX DC Utility 2 Hybrid
* Nickent 3DX DC Ironwood 4
* TaylorMade Irons
* Solus Sand Wedges
* Snake Eyes MCS2 Putter
* Odyssey White Hot XG#9 Putter
* Two Dozen Titleist Golf Balls
* 3 Golf Gloves
* 2 Pair Golf Shoes
* Granola/Cliff Bars
* 2 Golf Shirts
* 2 Mock Polos
* 3 Pair of Shorts
* 4 Pair of Golf Socks
* Wind/Rain Shirt and Vest
* 2 Golf Visors
* 2 Golf Hats
* Sun Tan Lotion
* Elbow Support

I laundered the shorts tonight and the golf shirts will be washed tomorrow. The golf bag will be packed and ready to leave Thursday night. I am hoping to have a new set of TaylorMade irons to take on the trip.

The Rain is a Pain at Juniata

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2805/2185 - 4990
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: Practice Round
Date: June 13, 2009

Despite threatening skies, I tried to sneak in a round at Juniata Golf Club late this afternoon. The sun had been peeking in and out from ominous skies through most of day, but I thought I would be able to get 18 holes. No such luck. I played the first three holes, making par at #1, before I heard a second roll of thunder while waiting on the 4th tee. Knowing this could be a dangerous situation, I quickly hoofed it back to the clubhouse; a third roll of thunder rumbled as I walked up the 1st Hole. I waited about a half hour, watching dark, black skies off to the west of the course. Finally, feeling the worst had passed, I decided that rather than walking back to the 4th Hole, I would start at the 10th and play the back nine. After such a delay, and still keeping a wary eye on the grey skies, it was tough to get back into the round mentally, as well as physically. By the 14th Hole, the rain was coming down hard enough that I had to put up my golf umbrella and put the rain cover on my bag. The rain lasted only a hole or two, however. Although my game was a bit suspect off the tee--I lost five balls--I felt my swing was the best it has been so far this year. I still need to work on my mental game and my course management, but I feel I am swinging well, just not scoring well.

Dark skies beyond the 11th green

Welcome back Mr. Wilson: Since my swing is feeling the best it has this year, I decided to put my Wilson Staff Di-7 irons back in the bag. These irons will join the Wilson Staff Spine Driver I have been using off-and-on, as well as the Wilson Staff Fybrid. I bought these irons last last season, but never really had an opportunity to test them. When I started out swinging so poorly this season, I quickly lost confidence in them before I ever really had a chance to test them. Today, I felt like I hit some of my best iron shots so far this season, so that gave me a big shot of confidence. I also played today with a Titleist NXT golf ball for the first time. I had received a trial pack of two about a year ago, but had never used them. Recently, I had been given a box as a gift, so I decided to put the trial pack, along with a sleeve of three in my bag to test. I have to say I was really impressed. I liked the ball's distance, accuracy and feel. I will play with these for the next couple of rounds and then make a determination about a possible ball switch.

Rain clouds roll over the 10th Hole

Course update: Looking over my Juniata Golf Club scorecard today, I noticed that the lengths of some of the holes have been changed to better reflect their true length. The course now plays at 4990 yards from the white tees, an overall increase in length of 185 yards. The 2nd Hole is now 20 yards longer at 280 yards, 4th Hole has been lengthened by 10 yards to 390, the 5th Hole now plays 10 yards longer at 370, and the 6th is 30 yards longer at 380. On the back nine, the 10th Hole measures 15 yards longer at 165, the 11th is also increased 15 yards to 375, the 13th plays at 10 yards longer at 170 yards, the 15th increases 15 yards to 150, the 16th adds 125 yards to 400, the 17th Hole adds 20 yards to measure 340 and the 18th now plays 25 yards longer at 160 yards.

Updated Juniata Golf Club Scorecard

Photos by The Muni Golfer

Hellooooooo Mr. Wilson!

No, it's not Dennis the Menace calling to his next door neighbor, George Wilson. It is a switch in golf equipment. As you may have noticed, I have been partial to TaylorMade/Maxfli/adidas golf equipment over the past 10 years; everything from golf clubs to balls to shoes to gloves to headwear. But I recently decided that a change was in order. I still think TaylorMade makes a very product, but I felt it was time to try something different. After some looking around, I decided to move to Wilson Staff golf equipment.

Wilson doesn't get a lot of attention these days since most of the players on the professional tours are using equipment from the larger companies like TaylorMade, Callaway, Titleist and Nike. In fact, Wilson only has three players representing them on the PGA Tour: Padraig Harrington, Jesper Parnevik and D.J. Trahan. Harrington, as you might recall, has won three of the last six majors played-- the 2007 and 2008 British Opens and the 2008 PGA Championship. In fact, Harrington, Wilson Staff member since 1998, just renewed his agreement with company for the third time. What Wilson does have is legacy. It has won 62 majors, more than any other equipment company. Players who have used Wilson equipment during their careers reads like a "who's who" of golf: Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, Patty Berg, Arnold Palmer, Hale Irwin, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Curtis Strange, Payne Stewart, Vijay Singh and John Daly, just to name a few.

I started moving toward Wilson about a month ago when I purchased one of their new Spine Drivers. The Spine has a square shaped clubhead, and has a hollowed out crown, ala the Cleveland Hi-Bore Driver. This allows for more perimeter weighting and one of the highest MOI's (moment of inertia) in the game. According to Wilson's Website: "The Spine achieves high MOI and low CG by redistributing weight from the center of the crown to the perimeter. The result is the industry's first truly perimeter weighted driver with a higher MOI and lower CG than traditional 460cc drivers." The Spine comes with a 46-inch UST Proforce V-2 HMOI graphite shaft. So far, I have found the Spine to be a great driver. During the 18 holes I've played with it so far, I've hit 6 out of 11 fairways with it.

I moved further towards Wilson last night when I traded in my TaylorMade r7 irons, along with several old drivers, fairway woods and hybrids at Golf Galaxy for a set of Wilson Staff Di7 irons. I read many reviews of these irons before making up my mind to purchase them. These irons come with Wilson's proprietary Fat Shaft, which was introduced in 1997. According to Wilson's Website, "The most important performance variable in an iron performance shaft is torque – less torque means less twisting, which equals greater accuracy. Fat Shaft technology provides a larger tip diameter (.500” versus typical .370” or 35% wider) providing 40% more torsional stability than skinny shafted irons for greater accuracy." The Website also states about the Di7 irons, "Simply stated, the new Wilson Staff Di7 irons are not like other clubs. A lower profile moves the center ofgravity down for higher ball flight. A wider sole moves the CG back for greater stability and straighter ball flight. A wider tip shaft prevents twisting on off-center hits. If you want to hit it longer and straighter, play Wilson Staff Di7 irons. We're talking 'club longer,' not 1-2 yards." I look forward to working with irons through the winter.

I have also picked by a dozen Wilson Staff Fifty Golf Balls to test. With a compression of 50, "Wilson Staff Fifty now stands as the softest two-piece distance ball on the market today. Its unmatched combination of maximum distance and ultra-soft feel appeals to the widest segment of golfers," according to Wilson's Web site. I have also read very good reviews about this ball and look forwrad to playing with it, especially in the colder weather, when the softer compression will make the golf ball feel less like a rock. I also want to try Wilson Staff's new Zip Golf Ball, but it has been extremely hard to find in stores, so I am probably going to have to purchase a couple dozen online.

In addition to the golf clubs and golf balls, I've also picked by a couple of Wilson ProStaff Golf Gloves to try out. I'll keep you informed of how this new equipment rates over the coming months, weather permitting. But I look forward to entering next season with Wilson Staff golf equipment in my bag.

Another Holiday, Another 93 at Old Landing

Old Landing Golf Course
Rehoboth Beach, Del
Yards: 2858/2972 - 5830
Par: 35/36 - 71
Rating: 67.6, Slope: 111
Score: 46/47 = 93
Date: August 31, 2008

The day before Labor Day, I decided on another round at Old Landing Golf Course, a public course along the Rehoboth Bay. I had played their on July 4 for the first time in a few years. I stopped played at Old Landing, which opened in 1965, because during my previous two rounds there conditions were some of the worst I had seem. As I had reported back in July, conditions have improved dramatically, to the point where it is worth playing the course again. The course tree-lined and narrow in spots, and water does come into play on at least six holes.

Old Landing Golf Course Scorecard

On this Sunday, I played with my cousin Judy's husband Steve, and Brian, the husband of Noreen, one of my wife's oldest friend's. Noreen, Brian and their two children had come up to spend the day with us at the Delaware shore from Ocean City, Maryland, where they were vacationing over the holiday weekend. Steve is a pretty good golfer who playing with a used set of Titleist blades he had purchased locally at Ruddo's Golf the day before. Brian is a golfer who, unfortunately, only gets to play maybe once or twice a year.

The opening Par 4 at Old Landing

The conditions at Old Landing were still pretty good this late in the season, considering the amount of play the course gets being located in a resort area. There were a few burned out areas because of the lack of rain, but the fairways had grass, as did the greens. This was not the case in the past, when many of the fairways and greens were more dirt than grass. The places that really showed wear were the tee boxes.

The narrow fairway at the long 416-Yard 2nd Hole

Surprisingly, the course was not very crowded for a holiday weekend and we didn't even need to make a tee time, considering that we went off about 1:30 in the afternoon. The pace was good, although Brian felt he was holding Steve and I back because he was struggling with rust on the front nine.

The green at the Par 5 7th Hole looking back towards the dogleg

I played much better at Old Landing than I had two days earlier at Baywood Greens. I was hitting the ball more consistently, although my putting was still the one part of my game holding me back. Despite this, I managed to make four pars during my round and amazingly, I shot the exact same score I did back in July -- 46 on the front and 47 on the back for a total of 93. What I was happiest about was I managed my game well enough to score, even though I wasn't playing my very best.

The approach shot over water to the green at the Par 5 12th Hole

The straightaway 16th Hole, a 339-Yard Par 4

The 18th green as viewed from the Clubhouse.
Rehoboth Bay runs along the right side and is visible in the upper left.

Photos by The Muni Golfer