TaylorMade R9 Iron Review

The R9 are said to be longer, more forgiving, have a better feel, and be more workable than any other game improvement club on the market. Do you believe the hype?

TaylorMade R9 Iron HeroTaylorMade seems to have made it its mission in recent years to reinvent what the phrase “classic golf club” means. For example, they have taken the pear-shaped driver and morphed it into a geometrical tinker toy that looks both modern and classic at the same time. Now, their researchers and designers have turned their attention to creating a classic/modern iron.

Given the success of the r7 line, the expectations for the TaylorMade R9 line could not be much higher. Is it possible for a club to gain 10% of distance over the already long r7? Can the R9 improve its forgiveness while incorporating several characteristics of a classic golf club? Can a game-improvement club have a soft feel? Since the initial announcement, the forum has been buzzing with golfers interested in whether the R9s can truly live up to those expectations. Read on to see some the answers that I found to those questions.

Continue reading “TaylorMade R9 Iron Review”

PING G15 Hybrid Review

With a club as easy to hit as the G15 hybrid, why fight a difficult long iron? The new G15 hybrid offers great distance, incredible forgiveness, and loads of versatility in a new package.

PING G15 HybridPING has been a major innovator in the industry for quite a while. No one can argue the significance of the innovations they’ve created to help all players. Even in PING’s inception, Karsten Solheim made history as being the first to use heel-toe weighting in the custom putters he created. 50 years later, that tradition of forward thinking and advancement continues, as the new G15 lineup is evidence of how far along they’ve come.

Up until this point, my experience with PING clubs had been limited to their drivers and putters. Though I never pulled the trigger on it, the Rapture V2 was (in my opinion) one of the best drivers I had ever hit. The G10 however wasn’t too far behind it, which is the reason I was pretty excited to have the opportunity to review the hybrid in the latest of PING’s G-series.

Continue reading “PING G15 Hybrid Review”

Volume Two Hundred Seventeen

The Worst Golf Year Ever, Stevie’s got some extra vacation time, and JD defends Tiger

Hittin' the LinksWelcome back Sand Trappers to the very first HTL of 2010. And what a break we had – it would be possible to link to nothing but Tiger stories if need be. But what fun would there be in that? There is much more going on out there besides Tiger.

In this first Hittin’ the Links of 2010 we start off looking at the loss of a pioneer, see what Stevie is doing on his indefinite vacation, and find out what we can take from Tiger’s debacle. Also on tap, we investigate Sergio’s newest injury, do a recap of the best tournaments of 2009, and see who has stepped up on Tiger’s behalf. Read on!

Continue reading “Volume Two Hundred Seventeen”

“It’s All About Impact” Book Review

Many of golf’s greats have said that the secret to playing good golf is consistently arriving at impact. This book from Andrew Rice promises to help you with precisely that.

It's All About ImpactAndrew Rice describes himself on his site as a “golf swing junkie.” Unlike amateur golf swing junkies, Andrew has studied under some of golf’s greatest teachers and taught some of the game’s best players.

Originally from South Africa, Rice competed in junior events against Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. He played for University of Central Florida and finished Second Team All-American with Justin Leonard in 1991. He played the mini-tours before getting into instruction at David Leadbetter’s Junior Golf Academy.

Rice currently serves as the Director of Instruction at the prestigious Berkeley Hall in Bluffton, South Carolina. He’s taught PGA Tour players like Nick Price as well as other PGA, European, LPGA, Champions, and Nationwide Tour players.

As a “golf swing junkie,” Andrew has seemingly never been content to take what David Leadbetter or any one person says about the golf swing, and much in the style of Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, has spent time analyzing the great swings to discern the truth about what works and what doesn’t.

His first book – It’s All About Impact – The Winners of Over 100 Majors Prove It – is the result of such efforts.

Continue reading ““It’s All About Impact” Book Review”

PING G15 Fairway Wood Review

PING had a big winner on it’s hand with the G10 fairway wood. Does the new G15 expand on that greatness?

PING G15 HeroThe folks at PING have been quite busy as they celebrate their 50th Anniversary and as a gift to you, they released two new lines of clubs. One of those is the G15 fairway wood which has the unenviable position of following the wildly successful and much praised G10 model.

Rather than leave “well enough” alone and just slap a new coat of paint on the G10 and call it a day, PING went out and changed things around a bit with the G15. While it’s more of an evolutionary change, it still boasts some pretty cool design features that should make you give it strong look.

So is the G15 one you should add to your list of fairway woods to try out during your next shopping trip to your favorite golf shop? What about the headcover? Is it forgiving? Most importantly, did it knock out my current occupant out of the bag?

Read on to find out the answers to those questions.

Continue reading “PING G15 Fairway Wood Review”

“The Stack and Tilt Swing” Book Review

If you consider yourself a student of the game, you owe it to yourself – and your golf game – to own this book.

Stack and TiltI’ll plainly admit it (and have, a few times, in the forum): when Stack and Tilt first came out in Golf Digest in 2007 I said things like “I don’t know much about it, but it seems like they’re trying to sell it pretty hard and I’ll wait a little while to see if it’s still around in a few years before I really devote much thought to it.” I didn’t look into it, I didn’t seek understanding, and I kept tinkering away at my own “conventional” swing.

Ooops. My bad.

Earlier this year I hooked up with a Stack and Tilt instructor in my hometown – and given that there are only about 20 truly qualified instructors, I am fortunate to have one nearby – and my opinions about Stack and Tilt changed as I gained insight into the swing pattern built by Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer.

Throughout the summer, my instructor applied a few “pieces” of the Stack and Tilt pattern to my golf swing. The more instruction I got the more the information made sense to me, and the closer I got to “full conversion.” Any objections or disinterest I had regarding Stack and Tilt slowly dissolved away in the face of information and consideration.

Continue reading ““The Stack and Tilt Swing” Book Review”

Clubbing Up: Beginners Should Consider Boxed Sets

The boxed set may be the perfect way to get into the game of golf – yet it’s overlooked by nearly everyone.

Bag DropThe golf equipment section of the forum gets lots of posts from beginners on whether they should buy cavity-backed clubs or blades for their starter sets. Or, what kind of driver works best for newbies?

In the responses, hard-core golfers compare the benefits of Titleist AP2 vs. Mizuno MP-57 irons to people who don’t know the difference between a 5-iron and a pitching wedge. This often ends up with suggested club mixes that could easily cost $1,500 if bought new.

“My gosh,” says the beginner. “What should I get? Will I ever make it to the golf course?”

Continue reading “Clubbing Up: Beginners Should Consider Boxed Sets”

The Instructor Quiz: Nine Questions You’ve Gotta Ask

How to avoid wasting your time and money: put your instructor through this simple quiz.

There are a lot of golf instructors out there. Many of them are qualified, intelligent instructors with the best of intentions. They want to help you, they want to see you improve, and they enjoy doing it.

Unfortunately, intentions don’t always translate into ability, and there are a good number of instructors out there who may not be helping their students as much as they’d like.

Over the last few years I have become increasingly frustrated with feedback I have received from students who have taken lessons from seemingly “qualified” instructors. In this era of the Internet and YouTube, I have also had the chance to view a large number of videos and read many instructional articles online and, again, it seems that much of the information is misleading at best. Because of this I took the time to devise a short nine-question “test” for golf instructors.

I would like to point out upfront that I, and all the instructors at my academy, teach based on the 5 Simple Keys®… but all of the questions and answers are the same for any efficient method of swinging the golf club.

Continue reading “The Instructor Quiz: Nine Questions You’ve Gotta Ask”

Bridgestone, Callaway, and Pinnacle Roll Out New Balls

New ball lineups from some of the industry’s top manufacturers aim to please a wide variety of players, with new offerings that deliver benefits to the areas of your game where you need them the most.

Bag DropAre you choosing the right ball for your game? Would you know if you weren’t? Are you playing a certain ball simply to keep up with what your buddy plays? These are all questions you should think about for a minute, especially if you’re serious about taking as many strokes off your score as possible.

If you are serious about dropping your score, maybe it’s time you seriously considered finding the ball that works the best for you. A few years back, a concept such as ball fitting was simply unheard of, though now, some say a ball fitting has become just as important to some as club fittings. If you think about it, it is the one single piece of equipment that’s in play for every shot. Fortunately, the golf ball market may the one area with the most choices, and the smallest impact on your wallet.

This week, we take a look new additions to that market from Bridgestone,
Callaway , and Pinnacle.

Continue reading “Bridgestone, Callaway, and Pinnacle Roll Out New Balls”