Happy 4th of July from Tri State Golfer

Happy 4th of July from Tri State Golfer !!

10 Rounds with the R15 Driver

10 Rounds with the R15 Driver

By ED TRAVIS

TaylorMade Golf is the number one club company for a reason and though some “pundits” have almost made a cottage industry out of criticizing them the bottom line is they sell more clubs than anyone else. Just as with other market leaders (Microsoft and CoCa-Cola come to mind) a few people seem to have a psychological need to take out after the guy on top which probably says more about them than the leader being attacked.

But let’s be clear, TaylorMade sells more clubs for a good reason. Golfers believe they perform better and all the carping or back biting doesn’t change that fact one bit.

With that bit of philosophizing behind us and turning our attention to the newest lead dog from TMaG, I admit I was looking forward to the arrival of the R15. The comparison with last year’s SLDR model was going to be fun.

For 2015, the premier driver model’s name is a return to the old standby “R” designation first seen in 2002 but most significantly as the groundbreaking moveable-weight R7 Quad in 2004. Last year the TaylorMade SLDR model hit the top of the charts with a single sliding weight that could be adjusted either towards the toe or heel by moving it along channel in the sole to compensate for the user’s slice or hook.  And it worked allowing average golfers to adjust the club to, at least in part, fix swing faults.

The R15 also is a return the distinctive white clubhead (though a black version is available) and it has all the technology seen in the SLDR with two significant differences, the first being not readily apparent. The weight channel was moved closer to the face so it acts as a slot to give additional face flex at impact. This in combination with 40-grams of weight being moved 12mm closer to the clubface means the R15 produces quite a bit less side spin than the SLDR and by extension just about every other driver on the market.

The second and more obvious change is the addition of a second weight in the sliding sole channel. Now, not only can the user compensate for ball curvature but because the weights can be spread widely apart, the moment of inertia or resistance to twisting is really increased. As Tom Kroll, in charge of TMaG’s Global Product Creation told me, you can think of high MOI as protecting ball speed when the impact is anywhere but on the exact center of the clubface.

Taking the R15 to the course a couple of things were readily apparent. The feel at impact was a step up from the previous SLDR model and though the SLDR didn’t have a poor feel, the R15 felt and sounded like the closing of a door on a Rolls Royce.

Distance for drives hit at or very near the center of the face was excellent, maybe even a bit past the SLDR yardage under most conditions but where the R15 really showed off was on off center hits, especially the ones slightly towards the heel. Distance was still good and as a guess, the loss of distance was about 10-yards compared to center impact.

The test 10.5 degree R15 had the smaller 430cc clubhead with the stock 45.5 inch Fujikura Speeder 67 Evolution shaft and the already impressive forgiveness would presumably be even better using the 460cc model. Of course the 430cc head tends to produce even lower spin so there is a tradeoff.

Shortly after completing the 10 rounds with the R15 while staying at the Reynolds Plantation outside Atlanta I visited The Kingdom, TaylorMade’s world class fitting center located there. After an hour long session on the launch monitor under the guidance of The Kingdom’s Noel English testing the R15 with a variety of shafts to maximize launch conditions he recommended a Fujikura Pro 53 trimmed to 45 inches—1/2 inch less than the stock shaft. The results since have been impressive or put another way I’m over the moon.

On just a typical swing with average contact I’ve gained 15 yards.

The game’s a lot easier the farther you hit it.

Negatives. The price. At $430 the R15 is among the highest priced drivers but in my opinion the performance more than compensates.

Recommendation. The R15 has to be at the top of your list if you’re looking for a new driver.

The Latest Golf Movie--”The Squeeze”

The Latest Golf Movie--”The Squeeze”

As everyone from the movie’s publicists to bloggers reviewing this film for the first time have pointed out…”The Squeeze” is a golf movie with characters that really can play golf, meaning they don’t look like Dr. Molly Griswold in Tin Cup. Now it’s true the “Tin Cup” character played by Rene Russo wasn’t supposed to be a golfer but somehow her contraption contrived swing didn’t look that much worse than the passes Kevin Costner was making…even after coaching by the likes of Gary McCord.

The point is, it’s nice to have golfers playing golfers in a golf movie but absolutely irrelevant if they can’t act.

The story of “The Squeeze” is based on what actually happened in real life to a young man played by Jeremy Sumpter (“Peter Pan,” “Friday Night Lights”) when he gets taken under the wing of a big time gambler named Riverboat played by Chris McDonald (“Happy Gilmore,” “Thelma and Louise”). Sumpter playing Augie is a small town golfer that doesn’t know how good he is but recognized by Riverboat as having the skill to win high stakes matches.

They wind up in Las Vegas (where else?) for a million dollar match against the reigning U.S. Amateur champion played by Jason Dohring over the ultra-exclusive Wynn Las Vegas golf course. Dohring’s character’s sponsor is called Jimmy Diamonds and as played by Michael Nouri becomes easy to hate. He threatens to kill Augie if Augie wins the match and while Riverboat makes the same threat should Augie loose.

Hence the movie’s name, “The Squeeze”.

Obviously our hero Augie has to get out of this lose-lose situation and does with the help of his girlfriend Natalie (Jillian Murray) by double crossing Riverboat and Jimmy Diamonds on the 18^th hole. The movie’s climax takes place in the desert outside Las Vegas with Augie and Natalie holding the two gamblers at gunpoint before driving away leaving two briefcases. One filled with $2 million and the other a loaded automatic. As the happy couple drive away a single gunshot is heard, the outcome of which is left to the viewer’s imagination.

It’s an old saying that to make a good movie you need two things primary things namely a good story and good acting. This combination is found in “The Squeeze” and for golf fans there is much to recommend seeing it.

Written and directed by Terry Jastrow with co-producing by wife Anne Archer there was little doubt story and acting would not be first rate. Jastrow was ABC’s golf producer and produced dozens of other major sporting events as well as motion pictures, stage and television programs. Archer has a long list of superlative acting credits and drew a major amount of attention in “Fatal Attraction,” “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.”

The story moves along with a minimum of distractions with the final match and Augie’s double cross being extremely well done leaving the outcome in doubt until the final few minutes of the film.

 ”The Squeeze” will be theaters as well as VOD and on iTunes on April 17, 2015. Even non-golfers will enjoy it.

The Greenbrier Bunker

From 1958 to 1992 it was a well-kept secret but even now when guided tours pass visitors through the 25-ton blast proof doors there is an aura of mystery about the bunker underneath the Greenbrier hotel. During a recent trip to The Greenbrier, “America’s Resort” and premier golf destination in the West Virginia mountains, I had the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity and learn the background on the underground hide away.

The bunker is more than two football fields in size at over 110,000 square feet and was built beginning in December 1958. Finished three years later specifically with the purpose of providing a location for Congress to continue doing business if there was a “national emergency.”

This of course was a euphemism for a nuclear attack by the USSR and begs the question of how member of the House of Representatives and Senate would be able to get out of the nation’s capital if intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads were on the way. But one has to understand it was a different time, it was the Cold War, when children were being taught in classrooms to “duck and cover” under their desks in the event of a missile attack and the U.S. kept thousands of nuclear warheads at the ready.

And there were at least three other secret bunker facilities around the country to house the Executive Branch and the Supreme Court plus military leaders.

To us today it’s somewhat amazing something of this size could be built in secret in so public a place but that was the idea, hiding in plain sight. Press announcements by The Greenbrier described the project as an addition to the hotel, the so-called West Virginia Wing and the huge area being dug as part of the construction project adding additional rooms. In effect construction of the bunker and the hotel went on at the same time with many of the bunker features such as fuel and water storage tanks, massive electrical generators and miles of piping passed off simply as necessary for a modern guest facility.

The deception of course could not stop with completion since dozens of technicians were needed to keep the secure facility in readiness not to mention man the then state-of-the-art communications systems installed. Nothing says more about the mood of the country and particularly the way the media looked at the project than the cover story for these resident workers. They were said to be audio/visual support specialists for The Greenbrier, in effect, TV repairmen.

In addition to the rooms meant as substitutes for the House of Representatives and Senate chambers there was living space consisting of 18 dormitories behind the four massive entrance doors plus a cafeteria, medical clinic, decontamination chambers and everything else Congress would need for an extended stay.

The bunker was maintained as one of America’s frontline facilities in the event of catastrophe until 1995 though the secret of its existence was revealed in an article published by Washington Post in 1992 and the government began the process of decommissioning.

Today though open to tourists the majority of the space is used for secure records storage and not open to the public.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

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Tri State Golfer Winter Edition

“Drive For Show—Putt For Dough.”

So says the old adage but Mark Broadie in his new book “Every Shot Counts: Using the Revolutionary Strokes-Gained Approach to Improving Your Golf Performance and Strategy” shows this accepted wisdom just isn’t true. In fact he explains a new way for golfers to look at their games and help their make their scores lower.

It’s all based on the concept of strokes-gained and Broadie should know since he is the one that came up with the stokes-gained-putting stat based on ShotLink data from the PGA Tour. But the surprising fact is when applied to the other parts of the game like driving, long approach shots, short approach shots and shots around the green, putting accounts for only 15 percent of the difference in scores at every level—professional to rank amateur.

For those who may not be sure of what strokes-gained is, here is a passage from the book:

“If a stroke starts on a tee where, according to historical data, the average score is four, and if it finishes at a position in the fairway where the average strokes to hole out is 2.8, then the tee shot has moved the ball 1.2 strokes closer to the hole with just one stroke. The single tee shot has gained 0.2 strokes compared to an average tee shot, so it has a “strokes gained” of 0.2”

A simple calculation, just subtract one number from the other, but the devil is in the details. Getting the data was impossible until ShotLink.

Applied to recreational players about two thirds of the difference in scores between touring pros and weekend warriors is for shots from over 100-yards which of course places a premium for everyone to practice approach shots rather than driving and putting.

The message of “Every Shot Counts” is not that we recreational golfers are worse than tour players, we already knew that, but by using strokes-gained to analyze our individual games and then practicing to make our weaknesses strengths we will score a lot better.

Finally Broadie has the credentials for us to pay attention to what he says. Not only was able to discover the truths revealed by strokes-gained, he is the Carson Family Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, a member of the USGA handicap research team and a former club champion at Pelham Country Club.

“Every Shot Counts: Using the Revolutionary Strokes-Gained Approach to Improving Your Golf Performance and Strategy” By Mark Broadie from Gotham Books--March 10, 2014 in Hardcover & eBook

You’ve Come a Long Way Baby – Equipment 2014

Clubs and balls have come a long way in the past 20 years or so and the latest and greatest golf equipment is always a favorite hot stove league topic. So, with spring at least in sight, it’s worthwhile taking a look at what the 2014 models tell us about trends in design and technology. The reader can draw his or her own conclusions but recognize change is being driven by the very nature of the competitive equipment marketplace and there’s no sure way to know which new design or exotic material will give us the next big performance improvement.

Some may argue Callaway Golf’s Big Bertha Driver in 1991 or even the first driver using titanium in the clubhead, Mizuno Golf’s Pro Ti 110 driver in 1995, marked the beginning of the modern golf club. However the fact is it was a golf ball 14 years ago that pushed club makers to rethink designs and materials.

Acushnet Co.’s brand, the Titleist Pro V1, wasn’t the first urethane covered multi-layer solid core golf ball but coming from the market leader it had an immense impact. The Pro V1 hit the fairways in October 2000 at the PGA Tour Invensys Classic and if there ever was a “game changer,” it was this ball. Compared to the then standard balata covered wound construction it went “miles further” and in no time almost every player on Tour was teeing up a Pro V1. Recreational players followed the pros lead and that served to further widen Titleist’s already large lead in the ball category, a position they still confidently hold.

To take advantage of the performance gains brought by the Pro V1, drivers had to improve as well. The Big Bertha clubhead was steel but makers soon switched to an “exotic” metal from the aerospace industry, lighter and stronger titanium. It allowed clubheads to increase two and a half times in size making them much easier to hit while at the same time, along with shafts made of graphite fibers half the weight of steel, kept overall club weight down to where they were still playable by recreational players. Further help came for golfers in 2004 when TaylorMade Golf introduced the R7 Quad driver and for the first time players had the opportunity to modify ball flight by adjusting the weighting of the clubhead.

For the coming season the drivers from every major manufacturer have some method of player adjustment and the hottest ones have pushed clubhead weight even lower and more forward towards the clubface. When combined with clubface coefficient of restitution values near the limit set by the USGA the result is more distance because the ball has much less spin. However trajectory is also lower, a lot lower, so to maximize results touring pros are using drivers with lofts 1 degree higher than before and in some cases 1.5 degrees. Recreational players have also seen the need to ratchet up the loft on their low and forward weighted drivers to achieve the correct trajectory for the most yardage from the tee.

Two major players in the driver category have introduced a track for a sliding weight, one on the sole of the clubhead and the other on the rear. The principle is to make adjustments of the ball’s curvature tendency more precise and at the same time easier to do. Loft in both is adjusted by use of a sleeve on the hosel.

Fairways and hybrids are taking advantage of the materials such as titanium and designs until now used only in drivers. Clubfaces producing shots with relatively low spin and trajectory are forcing players, just as with drivers, to go to higher lofts. One manufacturer has been making use of a slot behind the clubface to achieve increased flex and therefore distance for some time but now is complementing that with the lower and more forward weight placement. Look also for a continuation of the trend to longer shafts since, all things being equal, they produce more clubhead speed and distance. But the average recreational player should be cautious about going to more length because just as with drivers they are harder to hit and control.

An interesting trend is the appearance of game-improvement category clubs particularly irons in the bags of touring pros. With the advancements in the casting process used to manufacture heads of irons there are several brands available that offer the same feel as forged irons but with game improvement irons hit-ability. In fact in a blindfold test they are impossible to tell apart. Add to that the development of forged heads with larger cavities more like game-improvement models and the difference between the two types, i.e., player’s models and game improvement models, has become blurred.

Look for titanium in the faces of irons for the same reasons as in woods, more distance but the real story is a bit more complex. The latest, most popular irons have a combination of larger, deeper faces which makes for more rebound at impact as well as having the center of gravity repositioned much more forward than is traditional. These irons produce a higher launch angle and a lower spin rate producing more speed giving higher flying shots. Therefore they give more distance and because they land more vertically and don’t run as much they are more accurate. Some models have slots behind the faces to further enhance their performance so taken all together the average golfer should see a significant increase in distance with a higher and more controllable ball flight.

Putters continue to exhibit an astonishing variety of design and the now familiar extreme perimeter weighting has blossomed into several new configurations. There is one trend though that may be around for a while, the counterbalance putter, a response to the ruling by the USGA that disallowed anchored putting strokes effective in 2016.

The principle is to put a heavy weight at the grip end of the putter to “counterbalance” the weight of the putter head and provide a pendulum-like stroke, a main feature of belly and chest anchored putters. Counterbalance putters are usually two to three inches longer than usual and gripped down to produce the desired effect during the stroke. There is also at least one of the new putters that uses a super lightweight grip on an almost featherweight shaft which creates the opposite effect to counterbalancing and we’ll have to wait a while to see which design, if either of them, becomes popular.

----------------Cutlines----------

Billy Andrade, a Titleist staff player, put the Pro V1 in play the first week it was introduced in October 2000 and won the Invensys Classic in Las Vegas.

The Titleist Pro V1 and complimentary model Pro V1x are still on top, a position they have held for over a decade.

The first Big Bertha driver from Callaway Golf in 1991.

Mizuno Golf introduced the first driver making use so titanium in the clubhead, the Pro Ti 110, in 1995.

Another milestone in driver technology occurred in 2004 when TaylorMade Golf brought out the R7 Quad driver with player adjustable weights in the clubhead.

TaylorMade Golf has the #1 driver with their SLDR model that’s been on the market since August 2013. It has a revolutionary track in the sole for a 20 gram sliding weight to adjust the draw or fade bias.

Callaway Golf’s Big Bertha driver has a sliding weight at the rear of the clubhead.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

RGAA Making Golf Fun

Let’s see -- on any given day a group of average golfers, maybe even the group you’re in, is likely to improve the ball’s lie even in the fairway or wipe off some mud before hitting a shot. Look in their bags and you could well find 15, 16 or more clubs and the ball they tee up might be one of those deemed “non-conforming” not to mention the driver they’re hitting.

As the round progresses mistakenly hitting the wrong ball is a matter of, “Gee whiz, I didn’t really do that--did I?” and re-hitting rather than adding on penalty strokes. Once on the green many of our friends will putt with the pin still in the hole, though to be honest, I have never seen ladies doing this, only men.

And to cap everything off, after discovering the ball has taken a sharp left turn into water or especially if it has swerved to the right out of bounds, there’s no long walk back to the tee. A ball gets dropped near where it disappeared and a stroke is added to the score.

That is the reality of golf today and it’s definitely not the way the game should be played as envisioned in the rules set by the United States Golf Association. For most of us, to play by these “tournament rules” during a casual round on a Tuesday after work just doesn’t happen and in fact the vast majority never play a single round strictly following the USGA Rules of Golf.

Add to this another bit of reality no one seems to want to talk about. Golf associations around the country are using scores from rounds played as described above to calculate “official” GHIN Handicaps. Handicaps which therefore are wildly incorrect. But then this may not be a really huge deal since less than 15 percent of golfers have a USGA Handicap though they are the ones who tend to play in events requiring one.

Enter the Recreational Golf Association of America, the brain child of Dave Felker who believes the rules you play your round by should be determined by fairness, the spirit of the game and your group of players.

For example some of RGAA Rules say:

“The ball may be lifted, cleaned and placed without penalty at any time.”

“If the wrong ball is played the shot/s should be replayed from their original position/s.  There is no penalty for hitting the wrong ball.”

“The Rules of Play are to be agreed upon in advance by the players before teeing off on the first hole. The highest authority for settling disputes is the foursome or player’s group. They may ultimately decide what is right under all circumstances.  Players may agree to add, waive or amend any Rule.”

“Any commercially available balls and clubs are deemed acceptable for play.”

“If a ball is lost a player has two (2) minutes to find it. The penalty for spending more than two (2) minutes searching for a ball is one stroke. The penalty for spending additional time beyond four minutes is one additional stroke.”

“If the ball is in a “non-standard” condition for the location, it is acceptable to improve the position or lie of the ball one club length except on the putting green. Such “non-standard” conditions include divots, bare or uneven turf, temporary water, cart paths, sprinkler heads or hoses and unraked sand in a hazard. The ball may be lifted and placed one club length but not closer to the hole. When improving a player’s lie the lie should not be moved from the rough to the fairway, from the fringe to the green or out of a bunker to the rough or fairway.”

“The flagstick does not need to be removed unless it is requested by the player who is chipping or putting.”

“If a ball comes to rest out of bounds, in a water hazard or lateral hazard, the ball should be placed as near as possible to where it went out of bounds or entered the hazard and not closer to the hole.”

Sounds like a reasonable, realistic way to play though admittedly some will want to stick with the USGA Rules and these more realistic rules are definitely not the way to run serious competitions. But that’s not what the RGAA is about. It’s about what average golfers do in an average round and how to help them have fun, probably the single biggest way to both retain and attract players to the game.

Felker was part of the original group that developed Callaway Golf’s ball business and is now president of Polara Golf makers of balls and drivers that do not conform to the USGA standards for equipment performance…on purpose. For example the Polara ball is designed with a dimple pattern that makes the ball tend to fly straight, self-correcting the hooks and slices that plague recreational golfers.

The Polara Advantage driver is also outside the “Rules of Golf,” the ones determined by the USGA and the R&A. The Advantage’s clubhead is too large making it much more forgiving on mishits but most significantly the clubface has too much rebound. This excess trampoline-effect means the Advantage hits the ball a lot longer than the conforming drivers made by the major manufacturers.

Executive director of the RGAA John Hoeflich, is an industry insider who presently runs his own consulting firm but has held senior positions at Tommy Armour Golf, Titleist and TaylorMade-adidas Golf plus had a stint as president of Nickent Golf.

Both men see the Recreational Golf Association as an alternative to the USGA not as a replacement. For example Hoeflich wrote in answer to a question concerning the RGAA getting into the calculation of handicaps, “We are continuing to refine our plans. I think in the short run we won’t offer handicaps but might offer to track ‘average score’ for members. When you think about it, this is the way most golfers calculate the differential between their abilities. We will encourage all golfers to obtain a USGA handicap and post their scores as usual.”

Like other things having to do with the RGAA a realistic approach moving past restrictions for average golfers with the focus of making golf fun for recreational and casual participants. Those who enjoy golf but have no needed to play by the same rules as professionals and elite amateurs will enjoy a visit toRGAA.org and might even consider becoming a member. There’s no cost.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

Happy Holidays From Tri State Golfer Magazine !!!!!!

Rapture in a Driving Iron

Driving irons, 1-irons and even 2s and 3s have become oddities if not downright scarce but Ping Golf is bucking that trend with their Rapture Driving Iron for very good reasons.

Ping felt a low-loft iron was needed to give better players the option of added control especially in terms of trajectory that is provided by an iron compared to hybrids, which in recent years have chased long irons virtually to extinction.

“The Rapture driving iron has been well-received by tour pros because it provides longer shots and a controlled trajectory,” said John Solheim, Ping Chairman & CEO. “You have the best of both worlds. It’s more forgiving and generates much faster ball speed than the 2-iron equivalent, yet it launches lower and spins far less than a comparable hybrid. The low, penetrating trajectory offers control and command, which is essential for keeping the ball under the wind, for example, or when you’re playing a hard, fast course and you want to maximize roll out.”

With a loft of 18 degrees (essentially the same as what is thought of as a 2-iron loft), the Rapture has a high modulus of inertia created by tungsten weighting in the heel and toe. There is also a wide sole for help getting the ball out of difficult lies, which of course is a major benefit of hybrids versus irons. According to Ping, the result is a low trajectory penetrating ball flight.

The stock Rapture shaft is the TFC 949 graphite and ?-inch longer than a standard 2-iron.

Ping Rapture Driving Iron:
17-4 stainless steel body with 455 stainless steel face
Tungsten heel and toe weights
39.75-inch length
18º loft head
Foggy-chrome finish
Stock graphite shaft: TFC 949 with chrome PVD finish (R, S, X flexes)
U.S. MSRP: $220.00

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary
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Scott hot at Australian Open with 1st-round 62

Scott hot at Australian Open with 1st-round 62

Adam Scott birdied his first six holes en route to a course-record 10-under 62 at Royal Sydney on Thursday to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the Australian Open.

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Nike Performance Cart Bag II

Nike Golf has a new bag tagged the Performance Cart Bag II with a

useful 19 pockets – 13 external and six internal – which surely raises

the bar for on-course organization and means there is a convenient

location for every item.

“Our focus for the Performance Cart Bag was to design a highly

functional bag that allows golfers to conveniently access all

equipment and accessories whether using a trolley or power cart,” says

Mark Alan, Nike Golf Global Product Director. “With 19 organizational

pockets, all items are readily available and no golfer will feel

unprepared.”

The cart strap handle has a very nice feature right out front for easy

use, an additional pocket for valuables and a range finder pocket. The

insulated cooler pocket is handy and the each of the two apparel

pockets have internal pouches to prevent smaller items from dropping

to the bottom of the bag.

The 9.5 inch top has 14 club slots with full length dividers and a

putter well. Suggested retail is $240 and there is a choice of colors:

White/Venom Green-Dark Base Grey; Black/Dark Grey; University

Red/White-Black; and Military Blue/Silver-Black

ED TRAVIS |Golf News & Opinion

GolfScribe@tampabay.rr.com

(863) 409-9785

Fairways of Life

Golf Illustrated