Tidbits from St. Louis Golf Expo

[WUTiger]

This year's StL Golf Expo at the St. Charles Convention Center ended up being a "come as you are" party. The weekend collided with Mardi Gras celebrations and St. Valentine's Day, so I didn't do much prep work before showing up.

No attempts at a Sand Trap get-together this year. Shirley and I went up Saturday, and this is what we found:

Cleveland Futures...

The Srixon-Cleveland rep gave some insight on the future of the twin brands: Srixon will cater to more competitive golfers worldwide, and Cleveland will focus on recreational golfers.

I got to try the new Z545 irons. The rep had just received an intact set with DG S300 shafts, and I was the one who unwrapped the 4i grip and head when I tested it. Although the S300 is heavier and a bit stiffer than I use now, the 7i shots launched very well. The 4i shots were OK as long as I took a full, smooth swing, but I would need a shaft other than S300 if I got the set.

The Z545 is GI, and the Z745 is Players. When the weather gets warmer, I want to try the two

on real turf to see how the Tour VT sole plays out in game conditions. If you haven't seen the ads,

the sole (see above, highlighted in red) has different front and back bounce angles.

For the ladies... Shirley tried out the Cleveland CG Black 3W and 5H. These are geared specifically for women and seniors. She agreed with the rep that the CGBs were the lightest clubs she had ever hit. She got solid hits and decent launch with both clubs. (She just replaced her pre-2000 club set last summer with a custom-fit Adams Idea set).

Adidas, and TaylorMade and Adams... Oh my!

One of the industry reps predicts that Adams will survive, in a splitout similar to Srixon-Cleveland: TM will cater to competitive competitive golfers, and Adams will focus on the recreational golfers.

Swing Analysis x 2:

Both GolfTec and sports medicine people checked out my swing and found similar things. GolfTec analyst   Mike Cummings hooked me into the torso harness and had me hit some shots. I did hit the 9-inch target disc at the back of the net two of three times. Main takeaway: I'm decent of set-up and backswing, but tend to overswing a bit and need hand manipulation to bet club back into slot. Need to work on flatter wrist at top, and getting more pronounced hip kick at top to start down on plane.

Exercise physiologist Aaron Gutjahr of the Barnes Hospital system WellAware Center also checked me out. He said I was reaching at the top of my coil and losing my torque power on the downswing. He said my right hand should be like a "waiter balancing a tray" at the top. He also said my right shoulder seemed to be bit tight. (His colleague mentioned this to me at last year's expo). Also, he captured two of my swings on a motion-analysis app on his cell phone. He could draw in angles and planes just like the GolfTec screen.

Both Mike and Aaron mentioned things my home pro had me work on last summer. I guess I backslid a bit over the winter. I need to work on my right shoulder flexibility, among other things. Basically, I need to coil (not reach) going back, and kick to hips to start the downswing.

Arctic Golf? From Fri, Sat, and Sun, the highest air temp outside was about 20* F. The center's hotel was kind enough to let us use coat-check for our winter coats. Nice not to have to carry them around all day. I need to have a talk with our local groundhog!

[dennyjones]

The golf expo is coming to the Detroit area the first weekend of March.  Can't wait.

[WUTiger]

Hope you have something approaching warm weather. But if it snows... the faint-hearted may stay away!