Author: Michael C. Hepp

Tour Angle 144 Review

An exciting new training aid designed to help the golfer during set up, the backswing, the downswing, and even chipping. Join me as I take the new Tour Angle 144 for a spin.

Tour Angle 144 They say that there is a sucker born every minute, for me, that directly applies to golf training aids. I am drawn to them like a bee to honey, I just cannot help myself. With a garage full of them now you would think that I would have learned my lesson, but with the glimmer of hope that that next aid will be the key to longer drives and pin seeking irons, probably not.

When I was given the opportunity to review the Tour Angle 144 I was extremely excited to get the opportunity to try out a new and exciting training aid. I first saw the Tour Angle 144 at the place that I see most of the training aids that I am drawn to: Golf Channel. The commercial itself was not very clear on how it helped the golfer other than in getting them in the proper set up. Therefore I didn’t give it much of a second glance.

Once I was selected to do the review I did some more research and I was pleasantly surprised that it did more than just help the golfer in their set up position. Join me as I take a look at the very surprising device.

Continue reading “Tour Angle 144 Review”

TaylorMade RocketBallz Stage 2 Fairway Wood Review

With a number of tweaks and improvements to the original Rocketballz woods, TaylorMade releases the RBZ Stage 2 and calls them Rocketballz-IER.

RBX Stage 2 FWLast year TaylorMade made a huge splash with the announcement of their Rocketballz fairway wood. They advertised that golfers would get seventeen more yards by making the switch to this oddly named club. It debuted to a huge success with numerous professionals and amateur golfers alike making the switch to this new technology.

In 2013 TaylorMade has now released an update to the Rocketballz line with Stage 2 fairway wood. The marketing campaign has termed the new line Rocketballz-IER. With the advent of social media they have added #IER and added the -IER to all of the TaylorMade professional staff bags. Much of the underlying technology that made the initial Rocketballz a success is packed into the Stage 2 clubs and they have also added some new features which TaylorMade claims added an additional ten yards to the club. Although to be fair in terms of advertising this claim is made with a ball speed of 150 MPH which is much greater than any of the weekend warriors I play with, myself included.

For this review I was given a 15 degree fairway wood, with a graphite Matrix RocketFuel stiff shaft. Join me as I go through the details of this RBZ Stage 2 fairway wood.

Continue reading “TaylorMade RocketBallz Stage 2 Fairway Wood Review”

Adam Scott wins the 2013 Masters… Now What?

Adam Scott won a very exciting playoff for the 2013 Masters, the real question is where does Adam go from here?

Thrash TalkI have to admit that I did not get to watch the final round of the 2013 Masters Toonamint live. I was flying on a plane to Asia, but my DVR caught the whole thing and I was able to watch every minute. Ever since the 2007 Masters where Zach Johnson won with an over-par score, the Masters tournament has done a wonderful job making exciting back nine drama.

This year’s event was no different with the event in complete doubt leading up to the playoff. Although I knew the outcome, watching it unfold was still quite compelling. I am very happy to see Adam Scott take his first major especially after his falter down the stretch as the Open Championship last year. It would have been easy to let that event damage him and cause him to falter again coming into the final holes at Augusta.

Continue reading “Adam Scott wins the 2013 Masters… Now What?”

Why Tiger Should Have Withdrawn From the 2013 Masters

After getting incredibly unlucky, Tiger took a two stroke penalty, but he missed an opportunity to improve his image.

Thrash TalkTiger Woods should have withdrawn from the 2013 Masters.

Yes, it was more than he had to do, because the rules state that he was able to finish out the tournament, but withdrawing would have been the right thing to do.

On Saturday morning I got to my club as I do for most Saturday mornings for breakfast with my regular group. By that time ESPN and Golf Channel had already been talking about the drop. One of my good friends came in and I told him of the ruling and he immediately said that when he was watching the event he had told his wife after Tiger made the drop that it was not a correct drop. Sadly I did not get to see it live that day because I was working but I certainly saw the replay on all of the sports channels.

Continue reading “Why Tiger Should Have Withdrawn From the 2013 Masters”

2013 Masters Tournament Staff Picks and Questions

The 2013 edition of the Masters has all the makings of a great event. Let’s see what the staff expects for the event.

Thrash TalkHello friends. For me the official start of spring is the sound of the opening tee shot at Augusta National. This year the man on form and who is likely everyone’s favorite is Tiger Woods. He has started the season with three wins and hasn’t looked this good going into the Masters for at least the past five years. To add to the drama Phil has already won in Phoenix this season and is also looking good. Then last week Rory McIlroy – who has been pretty awful this season – has seemingly pulled his game together and finished second at the Texas Open. There are no shortage of storylines going into the event.

This year here at Thrash Talk we have decided to change it up by allowing a different forum member to answer each our five questions along with the staff. We had some great responses. Without further ado here are everyones thoughts.

Continue reading “2013 Masters Tournament Staff Picks and Questions”

Lost My Heart in San Francisco

Michelle Wie has won a few times on the LPGA Tour, but by and large her career has been marred by an inability to get out of second gear, what should she do now?

Thrash TalkFor Michelle Wie, the title of this Thrash Talk does not perfectly apply. She went to Stanford, which is in Palo Alto, but it is in the Bay Area, so close enough. Sadly, Wie is likely to go down as one of the biggest busts in women’s golf. Her parents have gotten and deserved most of the blame for the tragedy that has been her career, but at some point Michelle has to take some responsibility.

For starters, she should have never played in all the men’s events she played in. I think the first Sony Open was great, my advice would have been you missed the cut by one, so we’ll give it one more year. After the second year which wasn’t as good it would have been the last time she played in a men’s event. Instead she entered the John Deere Classic got heat exhaustion and the whole thing was a mess. This mistake was on her parents. They should have realized that her entering men’s events was a circus and publicity event, and should have done a better job protecting her. They should have told her to play with the men is an admirable goal but let’s win some events on the women’s tour and establish ourselves as Annika did before entering the circus.

Continue reading “Lost My Heart in San Francisco”

Analyzing Golf’s Analysts

Love them or hate them golf’s analysts are always a part of the telecast, I take a look at the current crop of analysts and give my thoughts.

Thrash TalkAsk most non-golfers and they’ll tell you watching golf on TV is boring. That’s likely because without knowing how difficult it is to hit a four iron to fifteen feet under the pressure of tournament golf, it’s hard to appreciate the achievement. Add to this the announcers doing most of the talking spits out so much golf jargon during the telecast that most non-golfers would either be interested to learn more or totally turned off. Most fall into the latter group.

Still, somebody has to talk during the telecast, and currently golf has some decent personalities doing the talking. Later I will do a story on the lead announcers like Jim Nantz, but for now I want to focus on the analysts. To qualify for a golf analyst you need to have had a moderately successful golf career and it doesn’t hurt if you are slightly controversial and willing to speak your mind.

Continue reading “Analyzing Golf’s Analysts”

Dear Phil, Thanks for the Memories

Phil Mickelson has give us golf fans so many fantastic memories, but are his better years behind him?

Thrash TalkI know when I write this there are going to be many of you who disagree with me. Especially the Phil fans of whom I am one of. I believe the end of the Phil Mickelson era is upon us. He may win a few more regular tournament events, but he will no longer win majors and will shortly be a complete non-factor.

For starters, it pains me to say this, because during his prime and even today I am one of his biggest supporters. I would and still do root for Phil at every event in which he plays. His go-for-broke style allows for some of the highest highs and lowest lows. We may never see another golfer with his style and flair play the game again. He is certainly deserving of the hall of fame and without Tiger would have been one of the game’s true greats. Add to this, Phil is very generous with his time with the fans, signing autographs and giving out balls to the kids, he is easy to like.

Continue reading “Dear Phil, Thanks for the Memories”

PING G25 Irons Review

With a brand new finish and some key performance changes PING recently released their upgrade to the G series irons with the G25 irons. I took them for a spin to see how they performed.

Ping G25When I think of PING my first thought is to the revolution that they brought to the market with cast cavity-back irons, the PING Eye2. Since that time PING has continued to make irons every type of player – from the average to the touring pro. It is my opinion that PING has one of the most loyal fan bases of any of the club makers, and anytime a new iron set is released there is bound to be excitement. With the announcement of the new G25 irons PING has once again created quite a stir.

The newest offering from PING, the G25s are a slight change from the G series of irons that PING has traditionally been offering. It seems they have taken feedback from golfers that the top line and sole width had been getting too large and decided to have the designers change it up a bit with the G25s. Even with all the cosmetic and performance changes PING wanted to make sure it was a high performing and forgiving iron that would appeal to golfers of all skill levels.

Continue reading “PING G25 Irons Review”