The Golf Student

Today I wanted to give a couple of opinions. I had a different post for today but I thought I would write this one since I just experienced both and wanted to jot down my thoughts while they were still in my head.

I had a chance to head over to the Roger Dunn Golf Shop in Seal Beach on Friday. I’ve mentioned before that I love this place since I am able to literally grab any used club I want and hit them in the practice stalls. This never gets old as I normally get to try some pretty high end clubs and just get an idea of the feel of them. Clubs that interest me are found by reading articles from Golf magazines or hear about just take note them on my phone for later reference. This last Friday, I was after a Ping G15 and a Taylor Made R9.

For those who don’t know I prefer a “crisper” feel to a club rather than a “thunk” that some of the larger, square clubs offer. I normally use a Taylor Made ’07 Burner as a result of this preference, and that that one day I would upgrade to something more like the R9 which is known for this type of feel. I have to say that the Ping G15 really felt great. It is a solid club that is lightweight but not too “whipy” or loose when swinging. In comparison to the R9, the R9 (430cc btw) felt a bit more heavy but I was told this could have been because the particular R9 that was there had been 1” elongated. When hit, the G15 felt very crisp and as if you were hitting completely through the ball with little resistance. You can absolutely still feel the impact but I felt that the head was made to really reduce the recoil and just impart as much of the momentum right to the ball. Additionally, the driver felt balanced in the follow through as if it had wings. The Ping G15 comes with a TFC 149 (5.8 torque) shaft that is basically a Ping proprietary shaft. I understand they also have an Aldila Serrano (4 torque) shaft option. If you have the chance and prefer the same type of driver action that I do, I would recommend giving it a try.

The Mystery Greens...

I had the chance to play at Los Verdes Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes yesterday. I am incredibly sore from it since I walk the courses but it was well worth it. For those of you who have been there I am sure you know, the course is absolutely beautiful. The scenery is right out of a sales brochure as it overlooks the ocean and beach on several holes. As far as the golf course itself, I believe that it is the hardest course I have ever played on. The fairways are of good size but they seem to “dogleg” a bit more than I am used to. The bunkers were strategically placed to protect the holes and randomly in the fairway to further the challenge. All in all the use of the driver was not extraordinary and I believe and incredible fun course. What made this course so difficult were the greens. Every bit of logic used in evaluating the slope and speed of the grass went right out the window. It was almost as if you were playing at the “Mystery Spot” in Santa Cruz where the ball would actually seem to go uphill. I took a picture of what I am talking about to the left. I felt that I was a good foot below the flag hole with the high side to the right of the picture. Since I was far, I putted relatively straight to gain a better position for the next putt. When I hit the ball it actually slanted and went what seemed to be uphill to the resting position you can see in the distance on the right of the flag. The greens were notoriously unforgiving and just boggled the mind. VERY cool but also very frustrating at the same time. The prices for the course are reasonable and if you have a chance you may want to go check it out. Be prepared though, you are playing elevated next to the beach the temperature changes very rapidly and it can get dang cold there.