Author: Michael C. Hepp

Wilson D200 Driver Review

With the price tags of drivers climbing high can the Wilson D200 buck the trend and offer a new driver at an affordable price point? Let’s find out.

WilsonWilson has been around the golf industry for more than 50 years. During my introduction to the game all most guys would talk about were Wilson clubs. During the late nineties and early 2000’s the brand lost its way a little. Very nearly fell off the map completely. In the last few years Wilson has made a comfortable home for itself just below the brands spending much more than itself on marketing but just above the bargain clubs. Now they are making a play to move up again into the higher end segment and spending more on marketing and club design.

So when I tell people that I am using a Wilson driver the first look is sort of precious. “Why?” is the typical question. I wanted to try the new Wilson D200 driver, to see how Wilson as a club making company was progressing. How would this driver stack up against many of the other drivers that flood the market today. I am particularly intrigued by this driver because it is priced just below the other high end driver on the market and I am always on the lookout for a good deal. I started this review hoping to answer the question can a club company with a great clubmaking history make a driver perform at a similar level to the other entrants to the market. Let’s see if I could answer that question.

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U.S. Open Drama

Wow! What a dramatic finish to the 2015 US Open. I take a look back at a few of the events that caught my eye.

Thrash TalkMissing a short putt to win a major sucks. As a golf fan with whom the outcome is neutral, watching a player miss a short putt is painful. “I am in shock” was the comment from Jordan Spieth who was the beneficiary of the miss. My heart was in my stomach as Dustin walked up to tap in his par. I did not want to see him three putt from less than fifteen feet to lose the U.S. Open.

Spieth has now won the first two majors of 2015 and he is a worthy winner. I am happy for him. I would just have rather him won it in an eighteen-hole playoff on Monday as he should have. Not because Dustin missed that putt. The drama of the U.S. Open was incredible. Even Dustin’s storyline of being the clear leader, to then a story of him losing it, to then an incredible birdie on 17, to then the deflation of the three putt. It was an emotional rollercoaster.

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2015 U.S. Open Staff Predictions

It is time for golf’s annual torture chamber! Better known as the U.S. Open, this year at Chambers Bay. Let’s see what excitement TST staff is expecting for 2015.

Thrash TalkIf you asked most golfers to describe the U.S. Open in a single sentence you would likely hear a great deal about thick rough and tree-lined traditional golf courses. Well, not this year. The U.S. Open is heading to my new home state of Washington in the Pacific Northwest to play at Chambers Bay not too far from Seattle. The venue is getting lots of people talking as well as the new broadcast team from Fox of Joe Buck, Greg Norman, and old favorite Holly Sonders.

With Tiger struggling to find his game and Rory coming off two straight missed cuts in Europe there are no clear favorites to get behind. Even recent Masters champion Jordan Spieth has not played that well since donning the green jacket. So you could call the U.S. Open truly an open competition because just about anyone has the chance to win.

With all these great storylines to discuss let’s see what the staff’s expectations are for this year’s event.

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Is Rickie Fowler Overrated?

Rickie Fowler has been an up-and-coming star for a few years now, but it seems his fellow touring professionals think he isn’t that good. Let’s take a deeper look at Dirt Bike Rickie.

Thrash TalkThe term overrated is overused. It has become a common terms used by sports talking heads when they feel that someone has been given credit they don’t deserve. I am not saying that some teams or players have not been given more credit than they’ve earned, but we overuse the term.

Rickie Fowler was recently rated as one of the PGA Tour’s most overrated players. He answered his fellow anonymous touring professionals by winning The Player’s Championship. Even putting this most recent win aside, voting him the most overrated golfer was misguided at best. I honestly don’t know if they watch the same tour that I do. How could they rank a guy with the highest finish in all of the majors last year overrated. I simply don’t get it.

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Mizuno MP-15 Irons Review

Mizuno releases the MP-15 irons, blending the MP-59 and the MP-64 they are targeting low handicappers and giving them forgiveness without sacrifice.

MP-15When you talk with most golfers and you ask them who has the best irons, Mizuno will come up at some point in the conversation. Mizuno has consistently delivered great irons for decades. The MP line of irons from Mizuno is traditionally dedicated to “player” irons. My regular set of irons before doing this review is the MP-4 which was reviewed here. There are days when the MP-4s tend to be on the demanding side for a golfer of my caliber. So when the opportunity came to review the MP-15 I was extremely excited to give them a whirl.

The MP-15 are designed for the golfer like me. A golfer who is looking for just a little bit more forgiveness than the MP-4 but remaining loyal to the forged iron and the feel that they provide. The recommended handicap range for golfers using the MP-14 is zero to eight which I fit in nicely. In addition to the classic look that Mizuno typically provides the designers threw in some very cool bells and whistles to help your ballstriking. With that lets get into the review.

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An Interview with The Dan Plan

The Dan Plan is one of the biggest and most active threads on The Sand Trap forum. In this interview, I ask Dan McLaughlin some questions from our forum members right before he heads out to knock off a few more hours from his 10,000.

Throwing DartsDan McLaughlin is the man behind The Dan Plan, a golfer striving to “test” the “10,000 hours to become an expert” theory espoused by a few. His goal? Become a PGA Tour golfer after 10,000 hours of dedicated practice.

I have obsessed over the Dan Plan right from the beginning. Well, maybe obsessed is a strong word, but I have definitely given it a great deal of thought. I was introduced to the idea by a friend who was a member at Dan’s first club Columbia Edgewater Country Club. He told me there was this guy out there practice putting everyday. His goal was to put the 10,000 theory of deliberate practice to the test. As an engineer, I was immediately drawn to the experiment.

Recently, Dan was introduced to the outstanding book Lowest Score Wins by Erik J. Barzeski and David Wedzik and as luck would have it I had an extra copy and was in the Portland area. I offered it to Dan and also the opportunity for an interview with questions coming from the forum members here on The Sand Trap. He happily agreed. Opinions on Dan here on the forum are mostly leaning toward the pessimistic side, primarily because his stated goal of playing on the PGA Tour is lofty. Calling it “lofty” is probably being nice. Perhaps Dan’s goal is closer to fantasy. As such, many of the questions target not only why he chose such a nearly impossible final target as well as why he started with one-foot putts and hit them for so long.

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2015 Masters Preview and Picks

It’s time for the Masters and in case you live under a rock, Tiger is back. This sets up a great 2015 event. Let’s see what the TST staff is looking for this week.

Thrash TalkThe dogwoods are in bloom and Tiger’s jet has been spotted in Augusta’s private airport, it must be time for the Masters. Tiger is playing so the “will he or won’t he” discussion is over and we now anxiously wait for him to miss a green to see if he flubs, shanks, or skulls his chip. Tiger always brings a buzz to the game and this year is no different. Traditionally The Sand Trap staff loves to pick Tiger but something tells me this Masters is going to be different.

Even with the all the buzz around Tiger there are a number of other story lines to talk about in the 2015 Masters. Is Rory going to complete the career grand slam and get the third leg of a grand slam? What about the defending champion Bubba Watson? Which rookies will you be looking out for this year? With that let’s dive into the questions.

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Is Patrick Reed a Top Five…Cheater?

Patrick Reed finds himself in some hot water with the golfing press. I explain why he is doing his best to dig the hole even deeper.

Thrash TalkI am no fan of Patrick Reed. My first impression was so bad that he will likely never overcome my dislike, no matter how many Ryder Cup matches he wins. My first impression was his interview stating that he is a top five golfer when he was just starting out. I like confidence but I like it in moderation.

He has proven himself to be a good golfer. There is no denying that. We can argue about whether or not he is in the top five, but he is certainly good enough to play on the US Ryder Cup team. Recently he has been the talk on tour for a piece done about his past. Shane Ryan has been working on a book titled: “Slaying the Tiger: A Year Inside the Ropes on the New PGA Tour”. In it he details the troubled past of one Patrick Reed. The story outlines a troubled young man who cheated, which in golf, is the worst label a guy can get. Patrick has now came back saying in an interview on the Golf Channel that the story is false and he has statements from his former golf coaches saying they are false. Now it has become a good old fashion he said he said scenario. He is now asking for a retraction from the books publishers and also Ryan himself.

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The Ryder Cup Disappoints Again

The PGA of America has once again chosen Davis Love III to lead the US Ryder Cup team. I explain why this has the makings of a terrible decision.

Thrash TalkThe first news of the Ryder Cup captaincy came as more of a “leak” rather than an announcement. We heard from Tim Rosaforte that Davis Love III was going to be captain again.

My first feeling was disappointment that they did not take my suggestion of a Ryder Cup CEO, but rather choosing the safer route of picking a popular figure in the game. My second feeling? How could this be the result of the Ryder Cup task force? To pick DL3 again?

If the answer to the question is that, yes, this is the result of the task force, then I am extremely disappointed. This is a “more of the same” type of move rather than trying to make the big changes the U.S. Ryder Cup needs. Sure, Davis is a nice guy and he had basically won the 2012 Ryder Cup before his team’s lousy Sunday singles play, but he is not change. He is one of the many losing captains the U.S. team has had in its recent past. How as a fan of the U.S. team can you not feel anything but disappointment?

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