Tag Archives: Golf equipment

Putting is Effing Hard

4 Nov

I have played five games so far with my new set of Honma Beres NX irons. And I love them! My ball striking has been effortless, and the ball trajectory has been very high and far. I am getting better distances and control. The irons complement my current driver, woods, and hybrid clubs, and I should be playing better.

All my equipment is excellent—except for two things: one being the persistent cough that slows me down and leaves me breathless. And two, being my putting. It sucks! I switched to my TaylorMade Spider Mini not too long ago, after some disastrous putting with the Scotty. And you know what? Bad decision to switch!

In the last two games with the Mini, I did 37 putts each time! Thirty seven-effing putts. Man, that’s like six to seven additional strokes unnecessarily. The second-to-last round was the last straw, where I had three three-putts and two four-putts! I couldn’t get over this. Just two days earlier, I had three putts on five holes. Argh!

When I got home, the first thing I did was remove the TaylorMade Spider Mini and put back my Scotty Cameron in the bag. And sure enough, the last game back with the Scotty, I fared better. My next game is coming up on Thursday; let’s hope the improvement trend continues.

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A Pleasant Discovery

29 May

Last week, I used an alternative driver because my driver was loose at the joint and needed repair. And it was a pleasant discovery with the XXIO Prime SP-900 driver. Although it is longer than my lady driver, being a men’s club, I handled it well.

The best part was the distance that I was able to achieve. Effortlessly, I could hit 10 to 30 meters longer than my regular club! Wow! I never knew an unexpected change in equipment would yield such results.

Perhaps I should consider having this club in the bag instead of my usual XXIO MP-900 lady driver because, with the extra distance, subsequent shots are easier with more club choices to use. Hmm, what a pleasant discovery.

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Better than Phenomenal

26 Sep

My golf mojo is back after playing two rounds to rediscover my momentum for the game. By the third game on Saturday, everything fell into place. The distances were back, as were my other ability on the golf course.

My putting was better than phenomenal with the Peanut Putter. It was exceptional when I looked at the post-game statistics. I did only 26 putts, which was amazing! Never have I gone so low before.

While there were improvements with the tee-off, woods, and short game, putting was the main factor. Although I messed up three holes, putting made up for the mistakes, with ten one-putts and eight two-putts to score points. Do note there was not a single three-putt, a critical factor to return with a score of two under my handicap, based on the Stableford system.

It sure feels great to achieve this after the self-imposed two-week tattoo break. I hope I can maintain this momentum for the next few games.

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A Break from Golf

13 Sep

I am enjoying the break from golf after getting my latest tattoo. It is advisable to allow the tattoo to heal, considering where it is on my arm. So best to avoid exerting repetitive motions, as in playing golf, the better and faster the recovery.

Actually, for a change, it is nice not having to wake up twice or thrice a week for the game. Sometimes the obsession with the game is too much. So much so that whatever injuries we pick up along the way will never heal.

Before getting the tattoo inked, I was experiencing pain in my right arm, a new injury I picked up when I was golfing so often. My game suffered along the way, unfortunately, and my arm never had any opportunity to rest. But now, with the tattoo excuse, it is a blessing in disguise, and my arm is getting the much-needed rest.

I will rest for another week before picking up my golf clubs again. The skin above my Snoopy tattoo is peeling this week, signs of the skin healing and regenerating itself. By the end of next week, the skin above the tattoo would have healed, and the injured arm would have recovered. I should be back in action!

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The Perfect Ball

25 Apr

Last week, a golfing friend scored a Hole-in-One. We were thrilled for him when we heard the news. It got me thinking, when will my turn come for this elusive Hole-in-One? I have yet to achieve this feat despite playing golf for so long.

Perhaps it is the choice of the ball used? I have to admit ball choice was never a priority for me before. I used to play all sorts of brands to find the perfect ball for my game. New balls, used balls, hard balls to soft balls, the Hole-in-One is never within sight.

When I did commit, TaylorMade Distance+ was my preferred choice. But over time, I found the characteristics of the ball not suitable for my ball striking. The TaylorMade Distance+ Soft is no better. So I decided to stop using this brand.

The leading brand Titleist, favored by the pros, is too expensive for a social golfer like me. Although Titleist has a range of balls with different characteristics, it is not my go-to choice. Price aside, it does not suit me because my swing speed does not maximize the ball’s capabilities. In the end, it would only create frustration more than pleasure when playing.

So these days, I play with three brands mostly that are soft in characteristic – Srixon Soft Feel, Bridgestone Extra Soft, and Wilson Duo Soft+, as these soft balls suit my game better. However, I wouldn’t try the different ranges in each brand because, as I have mentioned earlier, my swing speed does not maximize the ball’s capabilities.

Often, social golfers neglect the choice of balls used, like me in the past. The focus is usually on the clubs, especially the driver, to tee off further. Next is the putter, but never the balls for the game. A golfer should understand their swing speed to make the right ball choices, but let’s not get into this. It can be endless and subjective, not to mention very technical too.

When I started to limit my ball choice to the three brands, my game improved by leaps and bounds, and it was gratifying. I have won some side money a fair bit during friendly matches but no Hole-in-One. Yet.

Since my friend struck his Hole-in-One using a Srixon ball, perhaps I should eliminate the other brands and stick to just Srixon, to increase my chances at this elusive achievement? Hmm. It’s a good thought, and hopefully, my turn at this feat will happen soon. And if indeed this happens, I have found my perfect ball for my golf game.

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What a Difference, Part 2

5 Oct

I am still not used to waking up at 5.30 am to play golf. It is always a catch 22 situation. Should we be the first flight to tee off to enjoy the morning cool weather? Or should we tee off a little later and deal with the heat towards the last few holes?

Sometimes the weather makes a big difference in performance. But then again, when there is lovely weather, the game is just not clicking in every area, like my recent game. My golf mojo is erratic.

The cloudy sky and cool weather were perfect golf weather, but the game was not as envisioned. Drives were errant; irons shots were sloppy, chips and putts were not happening. Why, why?

There were a lot of unnecessary mistakes and costly strokes. Sigh. So demoralizing after that second game that was so good. I seem to be consistently inconsistent more than anything else. Sigh again.

I play another game today, and let’s hope for a better outcome.

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What a Difference

27 Sep

Waking up at 5.30 am for golf is no fun. I have forgotten what it’s like to function with so little sleep. During the lockdown, I slept and woke at my own pace, and certainly not like this. Despite the lack of sleep, there was a big difference in performance when I played my second golf game over the weekend. It was a 13 strokes difference, to be exact, from last Tuesday’s first game after 20 weeks!

The tee-off and irons were so much better, as with distance. But I stuck to the five-wood instead of my favorite three-wood for the time being because I still can’t get the hang of it. And I couldn’t putt on the front nine and three-putted on five holes! Terrible.

When we crossed over, the back nine yielded better putting ability. Imagine if I had done this earlier; the 13 strokes difference could have been even more!

Well, I believe things can only improve from here on. It should be enjoyable again playing golf with the mojo back and better sleep time management. And with the lockdown restrictions reduced on outdoor activities, I foresee us golfing twice or thrice a week in no time.

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20 Weeks Later, Part 2

24 Sep

So Tuesday was our first golf game after a 20-weeks breather. Did we play well? It depends on how the categorizing to determine what is well and what is not.

First and foremost, the tee-off. It was good and not too good. At the first tee box, I launched the ball straight, and the second shot was decent to the apron of the green. Then the chip-in was very good because this was the type of shot I practiced a lot during the lockdown.

The Peanut Putter debuted, and the two feet par putt was a good opening performance. Then the momentum for the rest of the game was up and down. I was adjusting my swing constantly to get it right. The long irons and the three wood were harder to handle compared to the short irons and putter. The putter was stroke-saving to make one or two putts most of the time. It was only when the green was slopy, the line reading was off.

All in all, I lost only two balls–one went into the pond, and the other wayward upon tee-off–and I lost some distance because of erratic shots. Whatever problems I encountered for this first game can be resolved when I play more from now onwards. It’s a decent return.

I play my next golf game this weekend, and we’ll see how I fare next.

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Goodbye TomTom

30 Jun

Last weekend my golf watch, TomTom Golfer died. Sniffles… I’ve had the watch for almost six years and it has served me well. But like all electronic gadgets and devices, there’s a shelf life and an end to their usefulness.

Goodbye TomTom, you’ve been a good companion

The TomTom Golfer watch had been very easy to use on the golf course. Unlike most other golf watches, it has only one button to press for reading distances, hazards, and greens.

Having used it so much over the years, the spring in the button has eventually lost its sensitivity. Whilst I can press it to move up, down, and left, it does not respond when I need it to go right, the most important function.

So I asked hubby to see if he could fix it for me. Unfortunately, when he opened up the watch, not only couldn’t he find the problem, the watch decided to die on him whilst under surgery. Oops.

Now I don’t have a golf watch for my golf games. Although I did search for a replacement, I’ve decided to hold off buying one for now. Instead I have been using my AppleWatch Series 5 for the subsequent games (yes, I have an AppleWatch since Thanksgiving last year).

As of last week, I’ve downloaded several free golf GPS apps, trying out their functionality without having to pay for any premium bundles yet to see which app is best to use with ease. And if I am not too concerned about hazard indications as these free versions do not include this, I must say Hole19 holds a slight edge over Golfshot and Hello Birdie.

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Impulse Buying

16 Mar

Sometimes the act of impulse buying is merely to appease the buying urge than the need for the item itself. That’s why it’s called impulse buying.

Once in a while, I succumb to this impulse when I am cooped up too long doing the daily routine and feeling like a robot. Life has been without excitement lately, and especially so given the pandemic Covid-19 that has gripped the whole world and crippling all sorts of movement and activities.

Like everyone else, we have been keeping abreast with the daily development of the situation and have been dutifully avoiding crowded places. Practising social distancing to stay safe, we haven’t gone to the mall for ages. So much so, routine has become so predictable, dull and boring.

Over the weekend however, I was at my golf club and there was a golf equipment sale and I bought a Maruman Conductor 5-wood! Honestly I don’t really need it because I already have my XXIO MP 900 golf clubs complete with the 3- and 5-woods plus a U-5. So why did I buy it?

Well, the impulse buying urge for one. Secondly, I haven’t bought anything of late and grocery does not count. So the purchase was for some form of gratification to excite the otherwise predictable, dull and boring life.

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My shiny new 5-wood to complement the other two clubs of the same series!

The new 5-wood complements the Maruman Conductor 3-wood and U-4 that I already have and had been retired for some time. Maybe from here on, I might change my XXIO MP 900 woods for this set for variation to make golfing more interesting.

This—my game that is—has been too routine and boring as well; there’s no excitement anymore approaching the game. Same routine, same mistakes, same near misses… so predictable.

Well, put it this way, this impulse buy may be just what I need to vary the mundane, predictable and dull, be it my golf game or my daily routine, the story of my life now.

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