golfpassion

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Hello, we are playing the Bay course.. Today I took in some more sites as this was match play and a slower pace. It must be the blue of the ocean, that makes all the colors more vibrant.. I sound gushy, and I am not, but its stunning. We play Kaanapali next week, then some site seeing and then back to work. We will come back in two years when this event returns to Hawaii. Regards

I just had the chance to play Kapalua, Hawaii.. Weather is beautiful, mountains in the background with clouds pouring over them, the ocean is beautiful. What a view! I have been invited to this event for the last few years and never indulged until now, what a mistake. I am a partner in my company and its my first real time of playing hooky in 19 years, I am not sure if I feel guilty or upset, I did not do this sooner. I am fitness and golf nut, but have only played rather local to me sending others all over. I actually had to introduce myself to people and thought I was new with the company - go figure. My son knows everyone, and the islands very well, another go figure - this my and my wife's first time here and the first time I have traveled since being in the service. Short of the time change which is significant we watched the moon come up and then the sun rise, had breakfast on the beach and are in awe of the raw beauty out here. Well enough of that. Course is outstanding, tight, lots of rolling courses. This a scramble and as a group we shot -10. I have not had to work with caddies on too many courses so this is different. BTW no laser or GPS, or carts for this tournament which as serious a tournament as it is a fund raiser. Play it as it lies, course rules judges, very serious golf out here. Amazingly, we have not put any shots in the lava rock or ocean or actually hazard of any kind. I am surprised by the few palm trees, all the tall pines, and really dense brush with incredible dense rough. Keeping it in play, and shot shaping is the name of the game out here. Using mostly three woods for control in first round since I have never seen the course before. I have used the SandTrap blogs on equipment for some time and appreciate the suggestions. I am playing Titleist AP1 irons, Callaway FT9 neutral 8.5 Stiff flex driver, Cleveland Ultra Lite strong three wood, Cleveland 21 degree Mashie and wedges with Odessey putter. My son had my clubs gripped with the neon blue and yellow golf pride grips. Quite a nice feel, but rather distracting on the first use. Finally, I am using the Wilson Duo ball at the suggestion of several persons from the SandTrap. Actually, it may be me, but I find the ball a bit hard to fade or draw in comparison to my standard Callaway Hex, but I will trek on. I felt very bad for the caddy and emptied the bag quite a bit so I only have the Wilson Duo available for this round. Quite fun however. Not the place to use a new putter either, quite treacherous putting and very fast greens. Well new day another round (8:48am now) and we go off at 9:10am.. Tonight our first luau. I am a very bland eater so this should interesting. Regards

Every company likely has their ups and downs. Wilson I think lost direction for a while, and even worse was out marketed by other companies. Perhaps too many products. However, so far as their irons FG-62, they are quite solid and play well. I do 'very' much like the Zip and Duo golf balls. I hope they do start to market more and tell a better story based on a great history and solid product. I would agree that every golf product they offer is not top notch and perphaps they should trim the line and stay with what works in a better way.

Titleist has successfully provided striking forgiveness and shot shaping. That is hard to come across these days. I have the Burner 2.0 and IMHO they are nice playable clubs, however, it is hard to shape a shot. Titlest AP1 at least support a mid-handicapper and may be even more useful in a lower handicapper hands. So, an excellent transition iron IMHO. Why do I suggest the Titleist irons.. Read on if you care. A bit more history.. The Burner 2.0's replaced my '1985' Wilson FG-17 blades - I purchased them used 1988.. A great set of irons, I played college golf with them and had fair success on entry level tours until the desire to eat regularly took over. In the coming years I used the heck out those irons so much so, I had them refinished twice. My son who recently took over the business became tired of seeing them and decided that the wear on the sweet spot coupled with a most sincere suggestion from GolfSmith - replaced the set. No I am not cheap, I just liked my irons..well, I guess I am cheap and I did like my irons. After some getting used to the Burner 2.0's I found they were a nice set with ample feedback, average distance, high launch and very difficult to shape a shot. Before the new irons my HCP was a bonified USGA 3, post the burners and with 131 rounds later my HCP is 11. What I could do with blades was not possible with the Burners. Enter Titlelist AP1. I tried every iron out there or at least know to GolfSmith. The Titlest for me provided adequate shot shape and average feedback upon strikes. I have played 48 rounds with the Titleist and done quite a bit of comparative research with other golfers - young and old. Both mid and low HCP who have an opinion and the freedom to play whatever iron they prefer felt the Burners were a very nice club, but the Titleist were much better. My HCP in the 48 rounds is 6 and I believe at this point I will regain my former level. I still maintain a rather high swing speed however, I opted for NS 950 GH R-Flex shafts to emulate the ball flight I wanted. My 4 & PW irons are stiff shafts. For me it offers a good transition to my three wood and the ability to spin with my PW. I tried this setup with the burners with Ok results as well to be fair. The balance of both irons is actually quite good, the feedback from the Titleist is a bit muted but acceptable.