Solus Save-us..!

I played the Solus wedge last Saturday..yeah, I know, it's been awhile since but I just haven't had time to post..we're currently in the process of adding a room addition to our house and I've been talking with all sorts of people hunting down the best rate..blah..blah..blah..

Anyway, the Solus is a good wedge..period. I can't say great because I think I need to put it through some more various shots from the fairway. I did notice that it was a hair lighter than my previous Cleveland 588 Gunmetal, but I'd say this is due to the shaft. The Solus wedge comes with a proprietary True Temper shaft which is specifically designed for the wedge. It feels more like a regular flex than anything, but it's fine. I've heard some people, with faster tempos, have upgraded the shaft to a DG S300. I'm fine with it..and I think the smoky color of the shaft looks cool.

The play and touch around the green was as great if not better than the Cleveland. There is alot of feel and feedback from the wedge. I really can't say if it checked anymore than the Cleveland though but the feel was very good. I friend of mine who also has the same wedge says that they WILL rust but all you need to do is just give it a shot of WD-40 or some silicone spray and it'll be fine.

The wedge has a square toe which was took a bit to get adjusted too since I was familar with the more rounded toe on the Cleveland's. All you Titleist Vokey users will be more familiar with this style and I guess it's the more "desired" type of toe by the PGA Tour pro's.

I did like how the leading edge was flush when I addressed the ball. It was confidence inspiring and I felt that I was going to have good, clean contact. I can see why these play great from tight lies. This is due to the "crescent cut" system they use where it enables no bounce on regualr shots and then if you open it up you get bounce. Anyway, it's a keeper for now.

New Wedge..

After much research I've decided to leave the major wedge manufacturers behind and try out the Solus wedge. I've seen the infomercial..numerous times..but really didn't fall for it. What really pushed me toward this wedge was the fact that the grooves on my 51 deg. Cleveland 588 Gunmetal, that's a mouthful, have worn down and the fact that I was a fan of Frank Nobilo in his days.

I really can't say if it has really made an impact on how the ball checks on the green but I figure this would be the best opportunity for me to try this wedge out. I'm also interested to try out their "crescent cut" system. It allows for bounce when you need it..like in the bunker when you open the face up..but then no bounce when you're off a fairway or really when you're in a tight lie.

You may be asking why not just replace it with another 588 Gunmetal..which would be the smart thing to do..since I'm so familiar with the Cleveland wedges. I've played with the 588 series my whole golf career..I know it's good..so I figure if the Solus doesn't pan out for me I'll just pick up a new Gunmetal 588. A co-worker of mine plays with the whole Solus wedge set (51,56,61 deg.) and said they REALLY check up so he had to make some adjustments but could attack the pin..which has got my mouth watering..

You vs. PGA Tour Pro...

I was comparing stats today on Yahoo! Golf and ran across some neat tidbits. For your viewing pleasure compare your stats to the "worst" (yeah..right) PGA player stats :

Driving Accuracy: Jimmie Walker 49.8% (fairways hit)
(Joe Durant (1) 79.2% / Tiger Woods (146) 60.7%)

Birdie Average: Hidemichi Tanaka 2.6/round
(Tiger Woods (1) 4.4/round)

Par 5 Birdie: Mark Brooks 28.5%
(Tiger Woods (1) 57.1%)

GIR: Todd Hamiliton 56.7%
(Tiger Woods (1) 74.2%)

Eagles: Ian Poulter (five-way tie) 1
(J.B. Holmes (1) 19 / Tiger Woods (10) 12)

Par 3 Birdie: Ryan Hietala 5.4%
(Kirk Triplett (1) 21.2% / Tiger Woods (26) 14.9%)

Scoring Average (actual): Hidemichi Tanaka 73.2
(Tiger Woods (1) 68.7)

Driving Distance (avg.yds): Corey Pavin 265.9
(Bubba Watson (1) 318.4 / Tiger Woods (6) 306.4)

Putts Per Round: Bill Glasson 30.2 putts/round
(Aaron Baddeley (1) 28 / Tiger Woods (140) 29.4)

Par 4 Birdie: Hidemichi Tanaka 10.0%
(Tiger Woods (1) 21.8%)

I was surprised with the par 3 and par 4 birdies stats which seemed much lower than I expected. I was also surprised to see how low Tiger was ranked in the putts per round category..wow.

Golf Contract

Current Golf Contract: (I can play all the golf I want as long as..)

1. It is Saturday.
2. get home, meaning in the house, by 12:00 P.M.

These rules may seem harsh/rigid but I have been able to abide by them for the longest time. Sure, there have been times when I've been in breach of contract but have gotten off with a verbal warning or the dreaded "stink eye".

Well, I had a heart to heart and was able to renegotiate the current terms of the contract to be ammended as thus:

New Golf Contract:

1. I can practice/play golf THREE (3) times per month.
2. A MINIMUM of TWO (2) of the practice/play rounds MUST be completed with me at the house by 10:00 A.M.
3. I can play ONE (1) FULL, uninterrupted, non-threatening, non -worrysome, non-"stink eye" 18 hole round ONE (1) time per month.
4. FULL 18 hole rounds CANNOT be played back-to-back, consecutively.
5. I am ALLOWED to play back-to-back 9-hole rounds. (as long as I'm home by 10:00 A.M.)
6. Practice/play rounds (9 or 18 holes) not played WILL NOT carry over into the new/next month. USE OR LOSE.
7. This contract can be renegotiated/terminated AT ANY TIME by wife.

Now at first this may seem rigid but I guess I'm counting on playing that ONE time in the month with out any worry of impending/imminent penality. That's about it..So what do you guys think?

What did they put in my coffee?!?

I just came back from playing golf with a couple close buddies of mine in San Diego. We played at The Vineyard in Escondido. I've played there before and I remember the greens being fast and ultra-undulating..ugh Anyway, I'm working on 4 hours of sleep from yesterday night to today so forgive me if this post is a little hard to follow.

Anyway, I showed up about 30 minutes before out tee time to warm up. Today was the first time I got to hit the "new" irons and driver (Callaway X-16 Pro Series and X460 Tour). I hit the irons well and noticed a slightly higher trajectory too which was SOOO nice. The shafts, Dynamic Gold SL, did feel a touch lighter but perfect. They felt just like my previous set, X-14 Pro Series, but had a higher launch which I was expecting.

As expected I had no problems with the Callaway driver. Only thing I noticed was the peculiar sound the X460 made at impact. A lower, duller, "PING" sound compared to what I'm used to from Callaway drivers. The shaft was perfect (Fujikura Tour Platform 26.3, regular flex). I haven't been this happy with a driver since my Great Big Bertha II 415.

I was the first to tee off and decided to start the day with a #7 Pro V1. I pulled two balls of my bag one was a #1 and #7. I decided the #7 would bring me good luck for the day..which it did..I ended up carding an 86. I hit almost every fairway except two of them and had multiple GIR's. I was only 4 over on the fron BUT then went 12 over on the back.

The reason for this was I had two back-to-back holes (both par 4's) where I got triples on..which started with bad tee shots. My driving can be my best friend or worst enemy. I managed to pull in the reins and recover with a par on the very next hole which absolutely boosted my confidence...which this game is all about.

I usually fall apart, especially with these guys, when I start playing bad. I just have the worst time recovering when I play with them. On the other hand when I'm hitting frozen ropes down the fairway they don't even appear on my radar.

As expected we played skins for a buck and I ended up being the big winner and won $14...it's been AWHILE since I've been in the black. I can't say whether I can attribute my play to my equipment or ability. I'd say it was a concoction of both.

Iron Men..

I was perusing through one of my favorite golf blogs, EatGolf, today and was reading up on some local guys that qualified for Q-School. I actually didn't know there was a "pre-qualifying" event to get into Q-School. I know already that Luke Swilor has his own blog. Actually it was dead for a while but looks like he's back updating it which is great.

We also have Joe Larson (Newbury Park) and Steve Harsha (Simi Valley) that are also professional golfers playing on the Hooters Tour. Joe made it to Q-School also but Steve appears to have fallen on harder times with an ankle injury. It's interesting to read from their perspective, trials and tribulations of trying to reach their ultimate goal of playing in "The Show".

Got the other one..

The last of my Scotty Cameron's that I sent to get restored came in yesterday from the Custom Shop. It was the Pro Platinum Laguna Two. I also did a full restore on it and it came out great but noticed that a few of my requests weren't done. I requested that the "SC" stamp be done on the toe and to also replace ALL the white paintfill with the "Merlot Red".





It was basically restored back to original but the stamp was placed on the rear in "Merlot Red". All the other paintfills were back to original..nice..but boring. I'd highly suggest though if anyone is considering bringing their old Scotty back to speed to send it to the shop. I got both my orders in UNDER the 40 days they state on their site.

Back Home..

Well, if you guys have been following my blog lately you know that I've gone through a few sets of irons in the last month. I had the Titleist 775, Titleist 690.CB and right now the Titleist 704CB. As you can tell I was trying to be a "Titleist guy" but it just hasn't happened..my game that is.

I've decided to go back to the Callaway's but have upgraded to the X-16 Pro Series. The 704CB's are great but I can honestly say I've lost 10 yards. Previously, I was able to hit my 7 iron (Callaway X-14 PS) 160 and the 8 iron 150. I had to club up with the 704CB, respectively.

I can honestly say that I've hit the best with the Callaway's than any other iron to date (except my original Mizuno T-Zoid PRO that I shot a 76 with about 2 years ago). I know new irons take time to get adjusted to but knowing that I was shooting low to mid 80's rounds with the X-14's, well, and I'm not getting any younger..like the L.L. Cool J song goes.. "I'm going back to Cal(ly)..Cal(ly)..Cal(ly)" ..sorry that was bad..but quick..no? I just don't have time to "re-build" my game right now.

In lieu of all this I did decide to get a up'd set of shafts and got the True Temper Dynamic Gold SL. I'm very familiar and played with the DGS300 shafts before but these are 20% lighter with the same stiffness as the S300. This weight reduction also allows for an increase in swing speed as well. Perfect. I looked all over and decided to get them at Callaway Preowned since I know they're legit and they ship fast..unlike Jiangbo Han.

Right now I'm still driver-less (thanks to our good ol'friend Jiangbo) and still looking. I played the back 9 yesterday morning with the Titlest 503H and also decided that these will go up for sale shortly. They look great and feel confident but I just couldn't get comfortable with the iron-hybrid head and the I just didn't like the feedback off the face. It had a "click" sound which I'm not a fan of..very reminiscent of when I played with the Mizuno Fli-Hi hybrid..which that too was similar in design to the 503H.

I should have everything settled and back to normal by this week and then crawl back into my hole.

Brand Spanking New..

I was surprised to find out that the Scotty Cameron Coronado Classic putter that I had sent in earlier to get restored was finished way ahead of schedule. I received it from start to finish in 22 days! The Scotty's Custom Shop site said it would take 40 or more days, which was much more than a pleasant surprise.





Yes, it is the same putter..I kid you not. Unfortunately, I really don't have a place for this putter and it would get as much attention as the IBBF I had earlier. You may ask why even bother in the first place but I guess that's my enjoyment in it. I like the hunt of a finding that unique putter..it's all about catch and release.

Anyway, I still do have a few "trophy-pieces" that I plan on keeping for a while though so all is not lost.