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Do You Have The Balls for Golf?

When I first started this game almost 20 years ago, I never thought it mattered which golf ball you would play. To me, a ball was a ball. That was it. No one golf ball was better than the other, especially since I lacked so much fundamental of play – I can’t even hit the bloody ball, let alone decide which ball is better than the other. If it’s got dimples, I will hit it. That sounded a bit crass.

Over the first few years, from picking up random balls off the road, I developed an affinity to one brand in particular: MAXFLI. I just loved the font over the ball and teeing up with the bold MAXFLI word made me feel comfortable for some unknown and unscientific reason.

Look at that. That’s absolutely smashing.

I would use REDMAX as well and then later on, the MAXFLI REV and Fire series but by then the logo/font had changed to this stupid font

Which is kind of ugly, because X in golf means you didn’t finish the hole and you gave up because you suck. Having such a huge emphasis on the X just makes me super uncomfortable over the ball, like a premonition that this ball is going to go OB – which invariably it does.  The previous logo with the A being the emphases was well done.

By and by, I couldn’t source the MAXFLI balls anymore as my second hand ball seller, Mr Selan from KRPM slowly moved his way into the next life selling balls to angels playing golf up in the great unknown. I used to order 100 Maxfli balls in batches from him. Also, he told me that MAXFLI was getting more rare and suggested I move on to another brand like Wilson. He passed his business to his son, I believe, before I also faded from the scene around 10 years back as I stopped playing on Saturdays due to my young family.

I continued using random second hand balls after that, using whatever I still had in my cache of Maxfli and others. I opted to store my Maxflis more when I found out how difficult it was to get them. A few years back, I started using the Inesis 500 balls just because they were cheap and brightly colored. I was using an Inesis 500 soft ball when I shot 80 at the Mines a few years ago. However, after a while I noticed an alarming distance decrease whenever I used it, compared to other balls. It was then I began to take it more seriously – whether the ball I was using was indeed suitable or not.

I found a seller from LAZADA after that “Sports Direction” selling used Srixon Z star -XV and Z Star for around RM38 for 10. Which is a very good deal as these balls were excellent golf balls and I began using them – sometimes he had a Q-Star or TriStar in there and I used it with noticeable improvements around the driving and greens.

But they shut shop about a year back so I had to source out my balls again. I decided to just get new balls moving forward. I started with the cheaper ones like Srixon Soft Feel and Bridgestone extra soft because they come in Yellows. Played very well with them, I highly recommend the Soft Feel, for some reason, it flies incredibly straight. The Bridgestone one was surprisingly good around the green, but for driving, Srixon was very good.

I then purchased The Titleist Velocity ball which was basically the successor of the NXT.

It was touted as the longest golf ball ever and boy were they right. The Velocity was amazing to play with for a distance ball. Because I generally hit the ball short of green and try to roll it in, I didn’t need a high spin ball. I needed a ball to get down the fairway 230-250 meters. The only problem with Velocity was the price tag. At more than RM11 PER BALL, I was cursing everytime I lost the damn ball. I lost 2 at Sungai Long and One at KGNS. It’s frustrating because it was so expensive and I would be going all around looking for it.

I then purchased the Callaway Warbird which, at around RM6.50 per ball which made a bit more sense to the game I play. It’s still pretty long but for some reason I just feel the Velocity was further by a bit. Either way, both doesn’t come close to Srixon Soft Feel for straight flight.

So now, I would have a Srixon Soft Feel and one of the distance balls (Warbird or Velocity) with me. If the hole did not have hazards or was not narrow I would take up the distance balls. For holes where losing the ball may be a higher percentage, or a par 3, I whip out the yellow Srixons.

Either way, check these balls out , because as a hacker, I would strongly recommend against buying stuff like Pro V1 or Pro V1x until we get our game down to single handicap.

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Bad Golf, Here We Come!

For those who know me, I am one of those golfers that are incorrigibly bad at golf for the very reason that I rank aesthetics and looks above performance and money. Let me explain. If I had half a brain that works for golf, I would know that as a 12 – 14 handicapper, I have no way in high heaven or seven hells that I can ever play with a club that is designed for pros or at the very least single handicappers. I used to have cavity Taylormade and when I had the chance to grab a Mizuno MP-54, I grabbed it even though my game suffered like a mad cow slowly being split in half by a rusty drill. Then, I saw an MP-57, which makes it even much much more hard to hit seeing that the 57 was a much older tech compared to the 54. I went and buy it and used it and the cycle of pain continues.

For a driver, I went for testing, and even the fitter told me, SIM Max is suitable for you , as your drives are all at least a bit predictable. I said No. The SIM looked like a club that has gone through a pyschedelic makeover after taking too much drugs and seeing talking barstools – meaning – it’s way too colorful and busy for me. I want my clubs to be the absolutely boringest piece of equipment ever. And so, Titliest would be the one. Frustrated, the fitter then said, OK, there is the Tsi2 which has good CG at the back and I was hitting it OK as well. I said, No. The shape looks like me after having one of my durian binge , with the bulging head shape like my stomach. I want the classic pear shape of the Tsi3. Does it fit my swing? Who cares? It looks awesome!

So here we are, a few days before the Mizuno 221,223 and 225 was announced, I sort of knew that the old version MP20 was going to be unavailable by the golf stores. I called up my fitter and asked him about the MP20. He said, the entire Malaysia was sold out already and MST was preparing for the new Mizzies. But he added, that there was a faulty set available in Penang, that was the last of its kind on this God loving country.

I said Faulty? He said, there were aesthetic dings and scratches, but nothing that affected performance. It’s a Mizuno. Dings and club chatter is PART of the Mizuno lore because of its blardy softness. A Mizuno without this is like a car without a wheel. I said, OK, bring it on, with the discounts – but was still very pricey; and I was then looking at an available MP-5 for almost 60% of the price.

But come on – MP20?

I knew I couldn’t play it. If there was a MP 20 HMB set available, maybe that would be a lot more suitable for me. But MP20 MB blade? It’s like dating Scarlett Johansson. You know, you just ain’t good enough and everyone will be looking at you and go, “How the hell did this loser end up with her?” The MP20 is Scarlett. In fact, I will name my set Scarlett.

Come on.

Say it, it’s f-ing gorgeous. Its even reflecting my big, fat, bald forehead.

Can I hit it?

Hell, no. No, no no.

I’ve played a few 9 holes with it. And last week had my first 18 with this set, in Palm Garden. Shot an 88 – which you would think its pretty ok, but I hardly used my MP-20s. I had a few here and there, chunked my 9 iron once, mishit a few times very badly. This MP20 is like a wife – if you did something wrong – she lets you know and she lets the entire world know about it. You hit it fat? Your 9 iron goes into the water. You thinned it or you missed the center by a hairline? Too bad, your 7 iron now looks like a flaccid p-nis that goes 80 meters only. But the moment you pure it – and it happens occasionally, as in very occasionally – that feeling gets you uncomfortably high. Like as in, you go, WTF is this intense feeling of pure orgasm in the middle of the golf course surrounded by 3 other guys?

No, the 88 was down to some great chips, some great 3-wood, hybrid and some wondrous putting using the left-hand low style. If I had my irons working for me, I would have probably shaved 3 – 4 strokes and at least played to my damn handicap. But I wouldn’t have the MP20s.

So there you go – welcome to bad golf but with a set that is completely unsuitable to the game but so damn pleasing to the eye.

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Golf Simulator Series

The MCO has pretty much change a lot of things that we do in life. From ordering food, to getting things online, to exercising online. It probably set us back a few years in terms of revenue and income but catapulted us a few more years in front in terms of how the future will likely be in terms of virtual reality and new standards of anti-socialness.

Which is great for golf, since its probably the best game for anti-social behaviour. It’s one of the only sport where you do not need to interact with another annoying human being if you have a choice and still can play a great round of golf.

Over the course of the MCO, I’ve been toying with the idea of setting up an area in my terrace home to build a small golf simulator area. The idea is simple – these lockdowns will happen more often than not, it provides a place to improve my game without socialising and it also offers a way to introduce my kids to the sport.

The last part is important. Because the idea here is to eventually plan our so-called family trips surrounding the things that the majority of the family prefer. Since my wife’s vote is 2, most of our family trips now consists of things like shopping, swimming and all sorts of stuff that interests me as much as watching flowers grow. If I can bribe these two kids to play golf, we can finally plan some meaningful trip surrounding golf for the 3 of us, and just put my wife in a shopping mall somewhere for 5 hours. Everybody wins.

There’s a lot of Sim options for golf, but since I haven’t really set up anything at home to have a real hitting area, I am limited to only a few option – one that does not require space and one that is so easy, my 6 and 9 year old can play without going into golf rage for not hitting the ball.

I settled on this product called TittleX.

I know it sounds weird, as anything that starts with “Tit” would, including Titleist which many pronounce incorrectly as “Tit-less”. But what attracted me was the simplicity and the price.

For USD119 you basically get the TittleX hardware (consisting of a small bluetooth device the size of your pinky finger), some cradle so you can put on your club and an amazing software E6 connect to play on 5 great courses for free. The software is absolutely smashing, because the graphics is the best you will see in a sim. E6 is used by the best simulators out there from Trackman, GCQuad to other more affordable ones like Skytrack, Mevo+ etc. To get this software for USD120 plus the hardware is a steal.

If you are willing to pay USD80 (Around RM350) more, you get the swing stick, but I am a cheapskate, so I rather check out the system first before I commit another RM350 for the stick.

It arrived after around 3 weeks + and yes, because of the cost, I had to pay the courier the custom duty fees of around RM100+, so altogether, I guess the whole cost was around RM600.

The box was simple enough, small and compact, and out of the box, there was a charging cable and simple instructions to get started. The instruction from the box isn’t updated to the E6 Connect version (it’s using the old E6 TruGolf application), so you must go to https://tittlexplay.com/article/play/8/90/ for a better idea on how to set it up. It took me a bit of tweaking here and there but it worked nicely after that.

Once you set up with E6 Connect Golf, you just download the five free courses and then you are all set to go. The five courses are Bandon Dunes, Aviara Golf, Sanctuary Golf, Stone Canyon and Wade Hampton. Those courses eventually get a bit boring if you end up playing over and over and over, but hey, its for this cost and price, there’s nothing to complain.

The only problem isn’t so much of the TittleX itself, but how to set it up with real golf clubs. Because it comes with limited cradles, I’ve put one on my driver, my hybrid and my iron. I have a driving range mat I bought from Lazada so initially, I would set it up outside the garden and try hitting from the mat without balls.

The problem is the TittleX receiver is only one, so every shot, I have to go and change the receiver to the other club and hit again. The receiver itself wasn’t extremely accurate (my usual hook shots translated to slices) and my distance had a significant reduction. On trackman, my driver was around 98mph swing speed and around 220-230 meters, but from this TittleX, it was easily around 20-30% less. While we never liked being shown how lousy we actually are, it didn’t seem likely that all my drives were going around 180m when in reality (on the course + Trackman at MST Golf), the numbers were a but more.

Plus, the disadvantage of this set up was that I had to play outside as there’s no space to swing indoors my driver, and my kids cannot participate, so this wasn’t what I wanted. I increasingly wished I bought the golf stick.

Of course, for additional RM350, I tried looking for a similar thing in Lazada and Shoppee. But most of these turned out to be swing trainer sticks for adults which are a bit heftier for kids. Until I went to Decathlon online and found this

This is around RM50. So it’s a whooping RM300 less. It’s less realistic, but the cradle fits nicely to it, and it’s a lot lighter and easier for a 6 year old to wield. In fact, right now, we just play primarily with this stick and TittleX just to get the kids interested in golf. Realism? Obviously not. My 6 year old hit his drive 320m by shortening the club and swinging it.

However, I do see improvement in his actual golf when I play with him outside the garden using his US Golf Kids 7 iron and hitting foam balls. He is now connecting the ball better, and more confidently.

This isn’t a true SIM, but its a great way to get your kids interested in golf, so go ahead and get it. I would recommend the same set up and if you can get the RM350 stick, go ahead, but we’re happy with what we have right now with the cheap Decathlon driver.  I don’t know how heavy the RM350 stick is and whether it’s suitable for a kid, but it sure perks their interest better when they are hitting birdies and eagles.

Sometimes a little less realism is fine to get their interest into the game.

TittleX – go for it!

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Here Cometh the TSI

In almost 20 years of golf, I have been an absolute miser when it comes to equipments. My first set was a hand-me down Maruman set from my brother. After hacking around with that, I decided to splurge on an iron set – the Taylormade RAC LT. I honestly don’t remember how I purchased it – I think it was either second hand or it was on a fairly cheap sale. From there on, all my clubs were second hand, purchased from E-Bay or elsewhere.

I really don’t remember any club I purchase brand new. Even my Mizunos I am gaming now – the MP54 was a set sold to me second hand from a friend. My MP-57s were purchased second hand from a shop. All my drivers were second hand or on cheap sale – my first real driver (the first few years I was using those that came with the set) was the R510 I bought in Bangsar cheap sale. Then I got the R5 Dual from E-bay which I gamed for many years, before making the jump to the Hi-Bore Cleveland and Hi-Bore XL. Gamed that for a bit, then moved back to Taylormade – the whitewolf we call it – the R11. Because it’s white. And because we like wolves.

I gamed the R11 for the longest – I think close to 4 years before switching to a second hand Cobra Flyz+ (which I am using right now), for about a year + and went to buy on sale the Titleist 917 D2 which took a while to bed in but after getting used to it, was really smashing it. The Titleist by far, was the one driver that looked best, even if it was gray. But the shape was just perfect.

So I sold it off.

I sold it and a Titleist hybrid, a mizuno wedge, a Titleist 915 5-wood, a golf mat, a golf trolley, a Ping 60 degree wedge and I think a few more things that I can’t remember to prepare to purchase a nice Christmas Present for myself – a new driver. As in a really new driver.

However, in November, I decided to institute this swing change to move to stack and tilt, just as I sold off the Titleist. So, without a proper driver, I just gamed the Cobra for a few more rounds, at least until I groove this new swing in and have a more consistent way to whack the ball.

So, now, all ready to go, I headed to MST Superstore at the Federal highway for a fitting session and to try this:

A year plus ago I went for a session with these guys as well, as described here

Lesson Learnt: Don’t Binge Buy

Back then, my results were around

BallSpeed: 137.9

Total Spin: 2475

Carry: 212m

Total: 230m

Club Head Speed: 96.2mph

That was with my Titleist 917D.

Fitting into this TSi3 10 degrees with a Tensei AV White Stiff Shaft. My results were…meeh…

You would think it’s a lot of difference.

BallSpeed: 138.1

Total Spin: 2663

Carry: 215m

Total: 233m

Club Head Speed: 98.3mph

It’s slightly faster. But the spin is much higher and of course, things vary.  My longest drive was around 248m while my shortest were the hooks into the forest. Am still grooving this swing in so it’s not easy.

And honestly, trying out the TSi2 and the SIM MAX from Taylormade, I was able to hit these two slightly better.

But have you seen how the TSi3 look from the top? Take my money.

So against better judgement, and opting for the better looks instead of better performance, I told the fitter OK, I know I don’t deserve her, but I need to have her, so since the TSi2 is going for the same price as the 3 – why not the 3? It’s like you know that the vegetable burger that cost 20 bucks is good for you but when you see a same priced burger with double stuffing and wagyu beef next to it – why wouldn’t you go for it, even if it gives you a heart attack?

So there you have it. It takes 6 – 8 weeks for them to deliver – as the TSi3 is out of stock and the tensei shaft is also unavailable. But hey, since we are heading into another lockdown, I guess waiting won’t hurt anyone.

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Lesson Learnt: Don’t Binge Buy

So after struggling for two games in a row with the 917D stiff shaft, I decided to go and see a Fitter at the superstore MST along Federal Highway. Now, do note that I didn’t play that badly in my second game at Glenmarie. I scored 89, but struggled with my irons a bit and just completely sucked at my hybrid. So my driver wasn’t half bad – much better than my previous game, but I just felt like I was wrestling with a snake and I am not sure why.

So I thought maybe I could change my shaft a bit, hence went to the Fitter.

He brought me to a Trackman (I think it was another brand but I don’t recall) and here are my launch stats average:

BallSpeed: 137.9

Total Spin: 2475

Carry: 212m

Total: 230m

Club Head Speed: 96.2mph

Those are really decent numbers, to be honest. I thought I was higher in my swing speed but at 96.2, I am not a slouch either. According to this helpful chart below:

I should be playing to a 9-12 handicap which is what I’ve generally been playing to on great days – on normal days, maybe to 13 – 15 range. But banging it fast doesn’t mean I can score well. Case in point, in the few games I’ve missed absolute sitters for birdies – 3 footers, 4 footers just completely missing the putt. But overall, according to the stats I have above, I don’t seem to have an overall concern to my swing speed.

Funny thing, when I changed shafts to regular shaft (I tried a variety), the improvement was negative!

I was averaging 94 to 95 on the regular shafts, total carry distance wasn’t even past 220m and my spin was all higher. True, it’s probably because I was progressively getting tired, and maybe I was over compensating, but I was NOT hitting the ball better with the newer shafts. So maybe I have to stick back to the old shaft, or better still go back to my old Driver for the next game and see if there’s any improvement in the game.

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Golf House and Kota Permai

Golf house is closing down.

Or at least I think it is.

We headed over to One Utama outlet this week and managed to get the following:

a) 1X Regular 10.5 917 D2 Titleist Driver

b) 1X Stiff 9.5 917 D2 Titleist Driver

c) 1X Mizuno S5 54 Degree Wedge

d) 1X 818 H1 23 Degree Hybrid Titleist

e) 1X Taylormade 22 Degree Hybrid M4

f) 1X 917 F2 3 Wood Titleist

g) 1X Adipower Golf Shoes

h) 4X Mizuno Golf Shirts

i) 1 X Adidas Golf shirts

j) 2 X Mizuno golf long pants

k) 1 X Mizuno Carry Golf Bag

l) 1 X TaylorMade MG Wedge 60 Degree

m) 1X 915 F 5 Wood Titleist

Total = RM3,265.00

Yes, read it again. That’s 2 drivers, 2 Wedges, 2 Hybrids, 2 Woods,  1 Bag, 5 Shirts, 2 Pants, 1 Pair of Shoes. All brand new

Drop the mic. Of course, not all was mine, these were combined with the other guys as well.

And we were late to the party. Others have cleared out the PINGs, the Callaways, the Taylormades, all putters were GONE. GONE. So I could have ended up stockpiling a lot more stuff but couldn’t.

So were these useful?

Now remember, the above purchase were ALL UNNECESSARY. Totally UNNECESSARY.

I am playing superb golf already with my Cobra Driver and my old clubs, hitting 80 the last time out to Mines.

We are what we term as itchy backside.

So I dumped all the clubs I was playing superb with, and switched and went to Kota Permai.

Using the 9.5 D2 Titleist Driver, I completely sucked. It was so difficult to adjust to it after going with the more regular, lofted and bigger head of my Cobra. But when I did contact this Titleist, as in 2 – 3 instance, my God, it was a monster. Low, boring trajectory, at one Par 4, I was literally only around 30 meters from the green after the drive. I was thinking of PUTTING.

But the misses were all right and bad. This means I am not squaring my clubface fast enough – could be moving too fast and my clubhead is too slow due to heavier and stiffer shaft. I think.

Do I like this driver? Honestly I prefer my wonderful Cobra, and I knew I should have stuck with a 10.5 regular, but this Titliest 9.5 Stiff was fitted with a Aldila Rogue Max Shaft and was the last one in the shop. How NOT TO BUY?!?

Aside from that, I took the F15 5 wood out for a test as well. Meh. Just reinforces why I don’t use 5 wood anymore. In fact, the Golf House sale, there was one thing in abundance – 5 WOODs. Nobody uses them anymore. Hybrids have replaced them.

I also gamed the MG Taylormade 60 degree to replace my extremely old Cleveland wedges. WOW. This is the best purchase I have. The Milled Grind Taylormade needs to be getting used to, but the balance was great. I was using it ALOT, for all my bunker shots, for all approach inside 90m. It’s a great club and I purchased the last 60 degree of this sucker. Looks wise, it doesn’t compare to the Titleist or Cleveland wedges – it’s not the black or oil can finish I prefer my wedges in, but hey – time to change!

So overall, I need to game my Titleist Driver more. I remember switching to my Cobra also took around 3 – 4 rounds before I actually got to controlling it. But the Cobra always had a high trajectory. If I can get this D2 under control, with the trajectory and distance I am seeing, I am going to eat up some courses.

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The Golf Shop at The Club @ Bukit Utama

I don’t usually endorse any shops or courses but there is this one shop at The Club @ Bukit Utama, called The Sports Shop at lower ground, opposite the MMA training place, and same floor as the swimming pool: It’s run by a very nice lady and another guy who is a bigger golf nerd than me, who collects everything from broken driver heads to Daleheads Pings.

I hate going to this place.

Everytime I go in there, I go out carrying something and being poorer, but strangely happier. The difference between them and other stores out there is that they readily accept trade ins. If you are anything like me who had amassed an obscene amount of golf stuff over the years and have no clue how to get rid of them, The Sports Shop is there to rescue you. Of course, you don’t give them rubbish – but even old sets, old loose irons etc, they are willing to accept. They probably can’t cut you a good price for these since golf equipments are obsolete the moment you buy them, but the secret here is to trade. And here’s how you win-win.

The rubbish you have at home is rubbish anyway. Seriously, if you are like me and have like 10 different putters, you honestly will use only one or two anyway. And most of these putters are in the store room, rusting and gathering dust, and one day, your wife (or husband) who does not play golf will go, “Why in God’s name are these nonsense cluttering my house, dangit?!” And you will scramble to get rid of them.

So, gather your clubs – not all of them, maybe 4 – 5 of them, or 1 or 2 sets, and bring it over to the store. The shop prefers to trade in (I think) instead of passing you cash, so if you see a driver, a 3 wood, a hybrid, a putter you like, start negotiating.

At the end, you should get a like for like, or you can top up a bit. The first trade in went like this:

My side:

a) My RAC LT which was my second set which is starting to rust + a piece of junk stand bag

b) My wife’s reasonably new but not so great Dunlop Loco full set + a good cart bag

c) My Mother’s extremely old mizuno full set + a good cart bag

e) My extremely old R5 Taylor made driver

f) My very old R5XL 7 wood

g) My second driver (I say second driver meaning I use it sometimes when I am tired of my primary driver) – Hibore XLS

h) My Callaway RAZR X 3 Wood which for whatever reason I cannot hit with it so I junked it

Pretty much all in, I got a

a) MP – 57 iron set

b) My Cobra Fly Z + Driver with headcover and screw

c) Titliest 910D 3 wood

d) And I topped up RM500.

You may wonder if its a fair trade and I have to put in RM500. But everything on my side is useless (as I in I do not use them AT ALL) – except for maybe the driver, but since I am buying a new driver, my R11 will then become a secondary, and now I am bombing my Cobra and my 3 wood is sweet as peanut butter jelly. Only the MP-57s are  a bit more difficult to use compared to my 54, but I will keep them as a second set.

And now recently I stupidly stepped into the shop again after avoiding it for a few months.

It’s like a drug den. You simply cannot come out without getting something, and getting your fix.

I’ve seen some sweet sets in there like the MP59 and JPX wood which I wanted, but resisted and then poof they were gone with the wind. That MP59 was really mesmerizing and I am so regretting making a move for the 57s and not waiting for the 59s, but hey, that’s life isn’t it.

This time around, I made it a point to avoid the iron sets all lined up at the far wall. I simply cannot afford cluttering up my place again. Instead, looked at the driver and woods in front and the putter. And man, I shouldn’t have.

I saw an old 2007 Anser 2 (Pings are perfect putters) and a Yes! Jennie putter that looked like Ping B60. I also unfortunately saw this beautiful looking hybrid that has a silvery matte club head – the SLDR S Hybrid 3.

YowZah.

So, it was time for a clearance of some really old clubs from my side.

Firstly to decide on the putters – it’s stupid to have two putters so in this case I opted for the rarer Yes putter (ping putters are a dime a dozen). So even if it sounds like a woman’s club, that C-groove tech is something I always wanted to try.

My trade in for these 2 (Yes Jennie + SLDR – S Hybrid)

a) Rossa Monza  Mallet Putter (Original One without the AGSI insert)

b) Odyssey DFX 5500 Blade Putter

c) Never Compromise Voodoo Daddy Center Shaft Putter

d) Old Pair of 3 and 5 woods R7 XR

e) Titleist 983K driver HEAD (the shaft snapped). It looks similar to the 975D driver that got famous as Tiger’s driver in his early days, but he never used the 983K, so there’s not much nostalgia attached there.

f) Top up RM100

Again, the argument here is that, I have not touched any of these clubs (and driver head) for years, except for the Odyssey, but that one is already rusting on the shaft and I really suck at it and I’ve not touched it since I swithced to the Cleveland two square putter.

So, basically, it’s clearing up my place of 5 clubs + driver head which I would throw anyway – and getting back a hybrid I would use and a putter I would use.

The SLDR hybrid would directly replace my Superfast 2.0 Taylormade burner which I have a love hate relationship with. Sometime it’s perfect and others it just hooks the hell out of everything. The Superfast goes into my secondary Set with my 57s and my R11 and Cobra LD5 wood.

In all seriousness, if anyone is around BU area, drop into the The Club. Go to lower ground and have a look at this great little shop. I guarantee you will come out wanting something, and thinking of what you can trade in!

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Tiger Woods GOAT

How about that?

After God knows how many years of wilderness, and about the same time that I have almost given up golf as well, the gods of golf decide to give us one more taste of Tiger before he goes off to the sunset.

And what a ride it was.

Augusta Masters 2019 is the first golf event I’ve watched this year, and boy was it worth it. Even though it ended around 2 am, and I lost a few hours of sleep, to see Tiger back at the top again was worth it.

To all the young bucks saying: “I wish Tiger was at his best and I can go up against him”?

Be careful what you wish for.

As for Golf. There hasn’t been a whole lot of updates of late. Still playing, but struggling for some reason. I’ve lost close to 8 kgs since November and after losing this belly, my distance has been considerably lowered for all clubs. I just don’t understand it. In November 2018, I was blasting my driver and hitting into 150 meters with my 9 iron. Now, I can’t even muster an 8 iron near to the green. It’s ridiculous. I kept shorting all my approaches now, because where I used to hit a pitching into anywhere within 130 meters, I now have to think of a strong 9 or even an 8. Is the BELLY so important in golf?

I played Glenmarie 2 weeks back with a renewed interest to re-distance my clubs even though my brains hasn’t caught up yet. Playing 7 irons into 145m distance and Pitching wedges into 100-110m and finally broke 90 and played 87, even though my driver was literally all over the place.

But profoundly I am using this new ball Inesis. I bought it really really cheap from Decathlon (I forgot how much, but CHEAP). I was driven to it after seeing a friend of mine improved his golf game like a lot after using these cheap balls. These balls are miracle balls, I tell you.

There was one hole I pushed the heck out of my ball almost to OB. We couldn’t find it anywhere, and I dropped. While looking far down the fairway I saw this yellow bugger lying on the fairway, almost 300 m from the teebox. Seems like the ball hit a tree or something and ricochet a mile down the fairway. I saved par.

Another difficult hole, my long approach after a bad drive hooked horribly into the woods. When I walked up, lo and behold, that yellow ball was sitting prettily in the middle of the green. Two putt par. Don’t ask me how it got there.

Another hole, second shot on a par 5 dead into the woods. I chopped out to around 50 meter and with a 60 degree executed the perfect pitch that made this cheap yellow ball dance all around the hole to around 5 feet. Another par save.

I mean this ball literally saved me around 4 shots that day. I am using this from here on.

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Kickstart 2019 Tropicana

So the new year kicks off with all the new equipments for 2019. Just a quick comparison with my last year.

 

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Cobra Fly Z+ vs R11 Taylormade – No competition. The Cobra is several years ahead of the R11 and it shows. I wasn’t just bombing my drives today, but I felt very much in control, unlike the inconsistent display with the R11.

 

Titliest 910D 3 Wood vs Cobra LD 5 Wood – I never really had any 3 wood in my bag before and only had an old LD5 Wood. Again, with a 3 wood, the game changes – especially with this solid fella, which i managed to hit very good shots today

 

    

 

MP57 vs MP54 – This is probably the only one requiring work. The 57s are beautiful things, but I must say, very much different in terms of forgiveness – as in, it has very little margin of error. When I connect, it flies like a hot knife through butter, cutting through air. But when I mis-hit (on several occasions), it’s very tough to play. The 54s are a lot easier, but it doesn’t look that good!

 

 

Smart Square Cleveland vs Odyssey  DFX 5500 – I’ve been having a love hate relationship with my DFX for many years. Sometimes, its so good that the hole looks like the size of a basket ball hoop. Other times I can’t even hit those 3 foot putts. The inconsistency now makes me switch to the much larger, face balanced Smart Square – and it works. Awesome putting today, and the visual (two squares) gives me a lot of confidence.

So Away we teed up at West Course 3 and crossover to East Course 1.

Hole 1: Tee off into the woods on the left as was expecting a slice as experienced on the range. Nope. It was long and left for some reason. Managed to hit a pitching wedge out and flew the green, and left with a chip over bunker. Guess what? Yup, chipped into bunker. Solid Bunker out to around 6 feet and drained the putt with my new putter. The chipping skills cannot be bought though, damn it. (+1)

Hole 2: This is a really nice hole but OB right makes us go left, which I did, leaving me with a pitching wedge into a downhill green. I missed it slightly left, and had to chip it. It landed soft, to around 8 feet and I drained the putt. The putter is ON!! (+1)

Hole 3: Par 3 messed up. My irons flared right, and didn’t even come close to the green. My chipping wasn’t great and I still wasn’t on. From off the green, my putt almost holed and I sank the bogey from around 4 feet (+2)

Hole 4: Nice controlled hole which forced me to hit my hybrid, which veered left a little. From there, it was an easy enough 9 iron into a big green. Long lag putt wasn’t good and my par putt didnt drop. So a 3 putt bogey. (+3). Not an easy putt anyway, can’t fault the putter.

Hole 5: Not an easy hole, but a very good drive sorted it out. I hit a wonderful 7 iron flighted into the green, one of the times I caught the MP-57 perfect and saw what a great club it was in the hands of actual good players (not me). I had around 10 feet for birdie and literally burned the edge with my putt. Good par though. (+3)

Hole 6: Another drive bombed with a slight draw down the middle. This time, to around 110m, I shortchanged my gap wedge and ended up in the bunker. I like bunkers, and I blasted out, two putted for bogey (+4)

Hole 7: Uphill par 5 which another driver found me needing a 3 wood. The new 3 wood is AWESOME. I hit it so flush that it landed into the greenside bunker almost pin high. From there, blasted out of the sand to around 6 feet and somehow missed a very good opportunity for birdie-sandy. Settle for par (+4)

Hole 8:Just when you think we figured out, again, my 7 iron flared right. These MP-57s dont take kindly to off center hits like my 54s.From there, I found myself again in the bunker and again, hit it out to around 6 feet, and missed the very quick downhill putt. Bogey. (+5)

Hole 9: Great end to the 9 with a long par 5. I twacked my driver dead straight.  A 3 wood brought me to about 80m to the pin. I hit a ‘meh’ shot that found me on the left of the green, on a slope, with a water grating in front of my ball so I couldn’t putt. Instead, I had to chip – and for once, hit a great one, which trickled to about 3 feet and sank the par. (+5). Great 9! Away to East 1!

Hole 10: For once, a bad drive that flared right. Still found the ball nestled under the tree, and I thought an 8 should suffice. Instead I missed it badly and it still left me with a very difficult pitch to the green. Yes, I promptly pitched it into the greenside bunker. I blasted a good bunker shot out for 4-on but cannot do anything further from 10 feet. First double bogey of the day. (+7)

Hole 11: It’s a very nice narrow hole. I hit a great fade but it landed into the rough about 110m away. Once more, I mishit my irons badly and my pitching wedge just tricked forward and I had those tricky pitch/chip shots where for once I executed well, leaving me around 4-5 fee to sink the par putt, which I did. (+7)

Hole 12: Another par 3. And another monumental failure again. This time, my 6 iron semi hook got over the water, bounced promptly to the left and went back into the water again. I took a drop, chipped to about 15 feet and ended up double bogey. What’s up with my irons??! (+9)

Hole 13: Ah the great par 5, that just need a good drive first. I drove it well, although it did pop up a bit. From there, I duffed my 7 iron approach and it went only 20m in front. ME-57s are hard to hit, man! From there, my 6 iron found the bunker. A great bunker shot still left me around 15 feet to manuever down hill. I hit it slightly hard, but it hit the hole and rested a few inches from it. Good for bogey (+10)

Hole 14: This is a low index hole because the tee off is guarded by bunkers on left and water on right. I managed to sliver my shot into the middle of the fairway- once again the Cobra Flyz+ proving awesome value for money. However, I pulled my PW slightl and yes —into the bunker, my favourite. A good out, but caught the hill and rolled down to 10 feet. Missed putt, but pretty good bogey. (+11)

Hole 15: This is supposedly an easy par 5 if you have a good tee off. I had a good one, but it landed right in the middle of a huge divot in the rough. It was so unlucky! I could’t get the buried ball with my hybrid properly and it went around 20-30m ahead. Now  have the 3 wood. I also missed it due to the extreme slope I was hitting on. From there, a 6 iron found me off the fairway slightly. My chip was almost good but short a bit. 2 putt for double. (+13).

Hole 16: This is one of the holes I didnt catch properly my driver. Yet, so forgiving was it, it still flew and rolled a good distance. It left me around 140m to the green. Once more, the MP-57 was tough to hit. My 8-iron was short and left. Chip on wasn’t superb and had to two putt for bogey. (+14)

Hole 17: Easy par 3 and this time I made sure I stayed through the ball. 7 iron found the green and two putted for par (+14)

Hole 18: Final hole requires some finesse — not. Once more, the Cobra came out and the drive was good and long – so good I only was left with a gap wedge distance. I launched the approach to the right a bit and landed softly, trickling down to around 6 feet of the hole. Birdie to end the first game of the year? You bet. BIRD IT! (+13)

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2019 Equipment

In all honesty, 2018 was a really good year for me in terms of golf. I’ve gotten my handicap to playing around 14 – 16 fairly consistently. I’ve shot some really low numbers like 82 and had threatened to break 80 on a few occasions. I’ve drove the ball extremely well over a few games, sorted out my retarded chips somewhat and my putter blew hot and cold.

So what now for 2019?

For one thing, RHB isn’t doing any favors with their card by limiting our golf games to the courses. Now, we can only play each course like 4 times a year or something. Which is really really stupid, considering how much money we spend on their credit card. The problem with banks is that they change their policies all the time.

So this probably means we need to play more in our own club – KRPM, KGNS – these are pretty good clubs anyway and I don’t mind playing more often if I were to pay 100+ ringgit each month. But still, first to put a minimum spending on the card and now to limit the number of times we can play on the course – screw you RHB!

I did wander into a golf store at the Club, Bandar Utama during one sunday and found an excellent place to trade in old clubs and sets and get new/secondhand ones in. Being really stupid and careless with money as I am usually, I was immediately taken into their great sales pitch and immediately set up to sell my old sets and clubs:

a) My RAC LT iron set + bag

b) My wife’s Dunlop ladies set + bag

c) My Mom’s old maruman ladies set + bag

d) My Cleveland Hibore XLS old driver

e) My Callaway RAZR 3 wood which I can never seem to get off the deck with

f) My even older R5 Dual Taylor Made Driver (one of my first, but I am unsentimental in that sense)

I couldn’t bear to part with any of my putters, but these suckers might be the next one in line for the next trade in.

I got the above all in for RM1K, which I guess is pretty OK, considering these are all gathering molt in the house anyway. However, I immediately went on to buy the following to start the year:

Boom.

So highly unncessary.

All in all, I got the above for RM1,600.00, so contra with my trade in, I paid up RM600 to get a really nice secondhand MP57 which is so not required – because I already have the MP54…but who doesnt want a MIZUNO MP57 as a spare, man!?!?

The Cobra Fly Z+ was just too good to pass up, with Aldilla NVS shaft as well. I thought it was high time to update my 2011 R11 TM Driver to a 2015 model at least.

I never played with a 3 wood and always had to crank up my Cobra LD 5wood to reach those par 5s in two (which rarely occurs). The LD is a 2007 technology! So I got the 910D (2010) to see if I can manage it. It was just too pretty to pass up.

And suddenly out of nowhere, I managed to get a Cleveland Putter Smart Square for RM100, and of course added a bit more to regrip it.

So basically by dumping a pile of stuff I never use and just up RM600, I’ve gotten myself a whole new bunch of clubs to start 2019. Onwards!