retozimmermann

Hey Guys Actually I've been wanting to reply to this post again for quite some time now particularly in light of its revival. Just recently I've had to go back to my old putter for some games. This yet again confirmed how happy I am with the Black Carbon. My old Mizuno Tour putter just doesn't compare. Alignment with the black carbon is much easier due to its shape and shaft angle and the grip has, at least for me, a very nice thickness and texture. Only in very wet weather it starts to get somewhat "squishy". I'm also very happy with the weight of the putter. I've compared it to many lighter models and none of them feel so good to me like the BC. For comparison of a completely different kind of putter I've also played with my wifes Heavy Putter mallet putter. That one is certainly a very nice tool as well but personally I find that some of the feel is lost due to the extreme weight. Though I have to say that I haven't played with the Heavy Putter often and it might just be a matter of getting used to. One thing I also like about the BC is its sweet-spot. When you've hit it, it is incredibly soft. When you haven't, it is no desaster but you'll know that you haven't done it quite right. For me that is a very nice thing and actually keeps reminding me to pay close attention to the exact point of impact on my putter - something I can only to easily forget. How are all your experiences after some time with the BCs? Does anybody have another BC model? Cheers from Switzerland Reto

I'm not throwing them out. They are in my MX-25 set at home, while I have a used MP-33 set which I want to take with me while I'm away from home during the week. I have an old putter that can go with it but a wedge is still missing. Because I don't want to spend too much (don't know how often I'm actually going to be able to play), I don't want to buy more than one wedge. Additionally, this is a nice opportunity for me to get to know another wedge manufacturer. I'm strongly leaning towards a vokey oil can, possibly also a black cleveland.

Thank you for all your replies. Meanwhile, after reading your comments and doing some research, I'm leaning towards a 54.08 wedge. At one point I started to look at the lofts of my two Club-Sets and noticed, that on the set I would like to get a wedge for, the PW is actually 48 degrees (as opposed to 46 on the MX-25s, for which I have a 52° and 56° wedge). Therefore I thought 54 would make sense. About the bounce I'm still unsure. Maybe it should be something more than 8 - 10 I reckon wouldn't be too bad since the club will have to serve as a sand wedge as well. So, any thoughts on the remaining issue of bounce? What is the one-size-fits-all-purposes bounce?

Dear Forum Imagine that you have a set of clubs 3-P but no wedge and you would only want to buy one wedge. Which wedge would you choose and why? Which bounce would you choose? Because the above is exactly my current situation, I would highly appreciate your answers to help me with my predicament. Thank you Reto

Thank you for your feelings on this. In case the rule really should say "not play from", can the club just say (i.e. in a tournament situation where it might matter), "we meant not play from"? I mean, can they just verbally add what they thought or is that not actually possible?

Dear community My local golf course has a lot of environmentally sensitive areas which are defined as water hazards by a local rule. The rule states that it is forbidden to enter these areas and that players should proceed according to the water hazard rules. During my last tournament I found my ball 10 centimeters inside the marked boundaries of one of these areas. The question arose whether I would be allowed to play my ball as long as I don't step into the "hazard". When I enquired about my situation in the clubhouse, I was told that of course playing from these areas was not permitted, regardless whether a player stands in them or not. The answer was delivered in such a matter-of-fact way as though even asking that question was utterly ridiculous. Apart from the logical sense that the intent of the rule makes, I was not satisfied with the phrasing of the written rule and went to have a look at the R&A; rules and decisions. Therein I found that an environmentally sensitive area can indeed be defined as water-hazard and that it is possible to define whether it should be prohibited to "enter and/or play from" the hazard. Based on this statement, I strongly believe that the written local rule should be amended to include "and/or play from". From you I would be curious to know two things A) do you agree that the local rule should be clarified? B) even if the local rule only states "not enter", can the local club just say "and not play from" without this having to be written in the local rule? Could this be inferred implicitely from the fact, that the rule is about environmentally sensitive areas and as such should be protected as much as possible? I would be highly interested in your opinion on this case and my questions. Thanks in advance Reto

Just one suggestion: Mizuno Bettinardi Black Carbon BC1. Have it, love it. Brilliantly soft. I've opened a thread about it here: http://www.thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18851

Wanted to play so baldy this weekend but then the course was closed due to snow We found an indoor-place and gave that a try but it just didn't come close to the real thing. Yes you can hit some balls and play a bit but it just didn't quite do it for us. It's just too strange to be looking at a heap of pixels (anyone ever played on an HighDef-system?) and the short game is very hard to judge. Also, when you play badly on the course its one thing, when you play badly virtually it is much more frustrating.

Hi Thank you for the additional pointers. I'll happily contact you when I know more. Why don't you drop me your details in a PM. I'd like to play with a local Regards Reto

Hi All Meanwhile I've been working some more on our route and made a selection of golf courses which I would like to play on our journey. I've decided to skip Vegas golf-wise and stick to the coast area and one course in Palm Springs. We've still not decided which way we're going to drive (clockwise or counter-clockwise) but it might well be that we're coming from Palm Springs along the coast towards San Francisco after visiting the national parks inland. The courses I've selected are: Mesquite Country Club, Palm Springs Industry Hills Golf Club (Eisenhower Course), Industry Hills Glen Annie Golf Club, Santa Barbara Morro Bay Golf Course, Morro Bay Pacific Grove Golf Links, Pacific Grove The Course at Wente Vinyards, Livermore Harding Park, San Francisco I have put all the courses you've suggested in a Google Earth File which you can download here: http://www.retozimmermann.com/zed_pi...olfCourses.kmz (Of course you need Google Earth installed to view the file-content) All courses we're planning to play are selected while all others are in a backup folder. The place-marks have addresses, links to the course websites and sometimes rates. I hope that some of you might find this collection useful. Thanks to all of you who have provided this content! Best regards Reto

The weather forecast for Sunday is -3 to -4° C and I cannot imagine not going for a quick game. Maybe not 18 holes but certainly one or two hours outside playing. It'll be my first time doing that but I am confident that with the right clothes it won't be too bad

If I had a sim near by I'd certainly go - alas, there is none. I'm pondering the thought of setting one up somewhere, though. It'll probably remain an idea due to lack of space and the not exactly tiny price tag

The soft feeling is, in the way this putter provides it, exactly what I was looking for. I'm not a big fan of multi-material clubs, not even putters, and the stainless steel putters of other brands just felt very hard (as does my old cast mizuno). The way this is soft when you hit it perfectly and hard when you don't is, in my eyes, the ideal.

That was my problem exactly. I don't understand why Mizuno putters are so rare in shops. With you living in the UK, I know that EU online ordering law applies to you. That means you could theoretically just go and order the one, two or three models you'd like to test and then send those back which you don't like. It's probably not the nicest thing to do for the shop-owner but if it's your only choice, what else should you do?

It does, doesn't it? Although I generally prefer the white and blue Mizuno headcovers. But this certainly looks like it perform for me. Sheer unstoppable confidence