Category: Review

Bedford Springs Old Course (Bedford, PA) Review

Recapturing a bit of the past and taking it into the future: that’s what we find at Bedford Springs.

Bedford SpringsI played my first full round of golf with my (great) Uncle Bud at the Bedford Springs course in Bedford, PA. Bedford Springs was originally designed by Spender Oldham, modified by A.W. Tillinghast, and later revamped and altered by Donald Ross. In the 1890s and 1900s, Pittsburghers wealthy from the thriving steel industry would venture two hours south to Bedford, PA where the natural spring water was said to have rejuvenating, youth-giving qualities. While the women spent their time in the spas, the men entertained themselves with a round on the resort’s golf course.

After falling into disrepair, both the hotel, spa, and the golf course have recently seen a massive influx of hundreds of millions of dollars. All three are open once again and receiving guests and golfers.

I played the course in September, 2007. Read on to see what I thought of this revived classic.

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Mizuno Bettinardi Black Carbon Putter Review

Your eyes are deceiving you. That is not an insert in the new Black Carbon series from Mizuno and Bob Bettinardi.

Black Carbon HeroFresh off receiving a Silver in the 2008 Golf Digest Hot list, the new Black Carbon putters from Mizuno and putter maestro Bob Bettinardi are showing off new ways to provide an insert-like feel and softness while still using a one-piece construction milled face. By the looks of it, they have pulled that off beautifully.

I repeat, no insert. Oh, they still have the Honeycomb face milling you’ve come to expect from a Bettinardi putter but some additional face milling make these putters look a bit different from what you may have seen not only from Mr. Bettinardi but from anyone else making putters as well.

Read on to find out what this insert-looking, non-insert putter is all about.

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Titleist Forged AP2 Irons Review

Titleist takes a bold step in a new direction with the AP2. Adam Scott has switched. Should you?

Titleist AP2 HeroThere have been few reviews as eagerly anticipated by Sand Trap forum members and readers as this one and our upcoming review of the Titleist AP1s. Our Bag Drop article announcing these clubs has well over 50 comments and my follow-up field test will likely reach 50 before this review is published. In the forum, people are being fitted for, buying, and asking questions about the AP2s and AP1s left and right. Titleist VP of Golf Clubs Chris McGinley feels that this is “the most technically advanced forging ever made” and adds that “demand for this iron is unprecedented in the forged category. Not since the Hogan edge has there been this much buzz and demand for a forged iron.”

Titleist, always at or near the top in the “player’s irons” category, has in 2008 simultaneously simplified its product lineup and broadened its target market. Though their ZB and ZM models are still available for those who like player’s cavity and musclebacks, the AP1 and AP2 are intended to cover pretty much everyone from the PGA Tour golfer to the “aspiring” golfer.

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Z Factor Perfect Putting Machine Review

As seen on Fore Inventors Only, we take a look at the product that perhaps should have won.

Z FactorYou’ve probably seen Dean Thompson on The Golf Channel’s Fore Inventors Only. Or maybe you didn’t hear about him until we conducted an interview with him after the show was over. In the eyes of many, Dean’s Z Factor Perfect Putting Machine (hereafter called simply the “Z Factor”) should have won the competition, or at least finished higher than fifth place! After all, golfers from the PGA Tour to the local muni spend about 40% of their strokes on the putting greens, so a reasonably priced putting aid should be of interest to golfers of all levels.

Dean has spent years traveling the world, sharing the Z Factor with PGA, Nationwide, LPGA, and European Tour stars. Fore Inventors Only served as a coming out party of sorts. Now available for sale at perfectputtingmachine.com for $299, I’ve taken an in-depth look at the Z Factor. Has it improved my putting? Is it worth three big ones? Read on to find out…

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Mizuno MP-600 Driver Review

Will the MP-600 put Mizuno woods on the fast track?

The MP-600 features Fast Track weighting technology.Mizuno has long been known for their forged irons for better players. However, that reputation has largely failed to carry over into the world of woods. Their previous driver offering for low handicappers (the MP-001) had a small, but loyal following (at the range one day, a guy with an MP-001 couldn’t help but come over to check out the MP-600). In fact, only 16 of the nearly 800 Sand Trap forum members who responded to a driver survey, or just over 2%, use a Mizuno driver.

Mizuno makes quality woods, but breaking the mindset of the golfing public can be difficult. To be fair, until this year, Mizuno had not released a new driver since the MX-500, so they’d been out of the limelight. But the fact remains, many golfers don’t even consider Mizuno woods when making a purchase. The MP-600 is here to say maybe they should.

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Reid Sheftall’s “Striking it Rich” Book Review

Think you’ve got what it takes to make it on tour? You might want to consult with the doctor, first. Dr. Reid Sheftall, that is, plastic surgeon-cum-Malaysian PGA touring professional.

Striking it RichOne of the most often-touted explanations for the appeal of golf is that we play the same game, on the same courses, under the same rules, as the greatest players in the world. Is it any surprise, then, that so many of us entertain Walter Mitty-esque fantasies about turning pro? Come on, admit it, if you’ve piped a drive down the middle, followed it up with a pured iron and one putt, you’ve probably allowed yourself to wonder and fantasize, “What if…”

Truth is, most of us are about as likely to see tour action as we are to see, well, Gisele Bündchen action, but every once in a while, a real-life Walter Mitty shows up on the radar. Such is the central theme of Reid Sheftall’s Striking it Rich: Golf in the Kingdom, with Generals, Patients, and Pros. The book will prove entertaining reading for just about any golf-obsessed Sand Trap reader, and might just teach you a thing or two about the game you love most.

There are so many things both fascinating and puzzling about Striking it Rich it’s tough to know where to start. The author, Reid Sheftall, is an American-born, expatriate surgeon who, after completing his medical training in the U.S., emigrated to Cambodia where he has a thriving medical practice at the American Medical Center in Phnom Penh. In the preface, we learn that Sheftall was a talented, promising junior golfer, who left the game due to waning interest and a temper ill-suited for the game.

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Bobby Jones Hybrid Review

Bobby Jones was one of the greats. The hybrids that bear his name could also be considered great.

Bobby JonesAnybody who watches the Golf Channel has seen the infomercial. I’ve seen it and I’m betting, since you’re reading this review, a good portion of you have seen it as well. It’s for the Bobby Jones hybrid by Jesse Ortiz.

Now I’m not the kind of guy who sits around watching infomercials. I’m also not the kind of guy who will believe the five minutes or so that I catch of one. That being said, if the Bobby Jones Golf Company hadn’t promoted their hybrid as much as they did, I wouldn’t have jumped at the chance to review a couple of them. I’ve been on the hybrid bandwagon since 2005 and haven’t gotten off.

The Bobby Jones hybrid hasn’t had a breakthrough in a tournament like the Sonartec in the 2004 British Open. What it has had is some of the highest rankings in the Golf Digest Hot List in the past couple years though. Are those high rankings deserved? Can we actually believe an infomercial? Is this club worthy of having Bobby Jones’ name on it? Read on to find out.

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TaylorMade Burner XD Irons Review

Burning for distance?

TaylorMade Burner XD IronsIf you’re the kind of golfer who tends to hit the ball all over the face and would still like to hit a club less than everyone else in your group, then this review may interest you.

TaylorMade may just be the hottest brand in golf. Over the past few years, a ton of r7 drivers (followed by r7 fairway woods and, to a lesser extent, r7 irons) have found their ways into a host of pro bags, and subsequently into the bags of amateurs of all abilities with varying results. The new kid in the TaylorMade family is the Burner line. Released (or re-released) only a year ago, the Burner driver and fairway woods have been played on the Tour by players like Kenny Perry, Sergio Garcia, and Sean O’Hair, and has been well received by the masses, as well. Where the r7 line is most associated with movable weights, the Burner line hangs its hat on hot clubfaces and technology that increases clubhead speed. Now, the Burner line has brought that same technology to the irons arena.

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Cleveland CG Red Irons Review

Does the red “Gelback” mean you’ll soon be shooting red numbers? Read on…

Cleveland CG RedCleveland Golf builds some of the finest iron sets in the world, yet rarely seems to receive the recognition rightfully heaped on other manufacturers. Despite having a small PGA Tour staff – Cleveland famously dropped David Toms at the beginning of 2007 – Cleveland players such as Jerry Kelly, Vaughn Taylor, Brett Wetterich, and Vijay Singh continue to have success on the PGA Tour.

Cleveland marches to a slightly different drum than the other manufacturers. They don’t offer a square or triangular driver, instead choosing to stay with the swooped-back HiBore model, which met with lukewarm reviews in its first incarnation before delivering an incredible club with the HiBore XL.

In 2007, Cleveland added to its venerable irons lineup with the CG Red and the CG Gold – a pair of cavity-back irons aimed squarely at separate niches in the golf community.

We’ve given the CG Reds a thorough testing, and the results are in. Read on to see what we think: are they duds like the first-generation HiBore drivers or has Cleveland skipped that phase and gone on to greatness?

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