The latest HOG poll is up and running.

Do you keep stats? Yes, No or sometimes.

I tend to only keep stats of rounds where I play well, probably because I’m happy and want to see the results. But I’d be better off keeping them for my bad rounds to see what exactly is the cause of the high scores.

I’d like to do a post on golf sites that have score trackers in the future so comment some in. www.mygolfdomain.com is the one I use currently. www.TheGolfSpace.com has basic free score keeping and will soon have full blown stats as well.

The last HOG poll started during the Masters.

Do you like the recent changes to Augusta National?
No 36% (56 Votes)
Yes 64% (98 Votes)

64% of you were cool with the changes, myself included.

Final post about the recent TaylorMade demo day at my home course:

I didn’t get to put these clubs through my regular extremely detailed review process. But here are my quick impressions on the r7 460 and r7 425.

r7 460

I hit an r7 460 with the RE*AX shaft, stiff. I had problems making solid contact with this one. I couldn’t feel the sweet spot. I’m sure there is a sweet spot, but I suspect that the shaft on the club I hit was not right for me and made finding it difficult. I hit some weak push fades, not my normal straight or draw shot.

I checked the weights and they were configured for a fade so I had the tech change them for me but that didn’t help. So I can’t give this particular demo unit much of a decent report because it obviously wasn’t set up right for me.

I’ll hopefully give the 460 more justice when I get a chance at the proper one.

r7 425 TP

I have several r series TP clubs. The r7 TP 3-wood in particular is a permanent fixture in my bag.

The 425 TP with the standard TP Fujikura shaft is a special club. Unlike the 460, I found the sweet spot on the 425 every time. I was hitting into a very strong head wind and nearly knocking the ball to the other end of the range.

The ball flight was perfect for me. Not too high with either a straight line or slight draw. I could really feel the trampoline effect of the club face. Even hitting lame, rock hard range balls I seemed to be able to feel the ball on the club face, compressing and staying there for a few milliseconds longer.

I could work this baby to a nice draw or fade at will. If you work the ball you need the TP setup so there’s no closed face or draw bias. I could hit a nice low punch for the wind or tee it high and go for a towering ball flight.

Hard to believe I’m saying this, but the “smaller” 425 head works well for me.

A while back I had a terrible round with my buddy Luke. I lost 7 or 8 balls in 18 holes. Granted there was a 500 mph wind and we played on the tightest course ever but I was still down about that.

Since then I set a goal similar to what me and some other golf bloggers (can’t remember who) blogged about last year.. See how many holes I can play without losing a ball..

Today my new record and streak ended at 154. The new streak is now at 32.

So I landed in Dallas on Monday, got my luggage, took the escalator downstairs to catch the shuttle to pick up my rental car and was hit by a wall of 102 degree weather as soon as I walked outside. This made me instantly appreciate the weather back home in Southern California. I got on the shuttle and was welcomed to Texas by Shania Twain which was the ring tone of the woman sitting next to me.

After discovering that the Dallas airport is a city of its own, I got lost on the way to the hotel. The next morning, I got lost on the way to the golf course for a practice round and got lost on my way to the gym after that. Sure enough, that evening I got a little turned around again on my way back to the hotel. I’ll admit that I am not the best at directions but the road system here completely baffled me.

So Friday rolls around and the weather had actually cooled down to the low 80’s. I shot 75 that day which put me in a tie for 87th place. I feel that I played well but just had one hole that gave me some trouble.

It takes a lot of self motivation when you are out here on your own.

After being confident in my pre-swing routine, I hit my 4 iron on the par 3 hole #6. I look up and it was headed left. It hit the top of the mound left of the green and I watched it kick dead left out of bounds. I hit another 4 iron and landed short and couldn’t get up and down and made triple bogey. Of course I was a little upset but I pulled myself together and played great for the rest of the way in.

Can you do the math?

The next two days I played well. I shot 70 on Saturday which moved me up to 42nd place and had a rollercoaster of a round on Sunday but still came in with a 71 which put me in a tie for 28th place. If you didn’t get a chance to see my scorecard for Sunday, by rollercoaster, I mean I had 6 birdies for the day and only 2 pars on the back nine. You do the math.

Can we transfer birdies?

I am very satisfied with my tournament in Frisco. It’s my best finish as a professional so far and I believe I am getting more comfortable being under par which is a big step for me. Let’s see if I can keep all those birdies for McAllen this weekend and leave the bogeys in Frisco.

Until next time,
Keep it inbounds.

Megan Heckeroth
www.megangolf.com

So I’m even par yesterday going into #13. 13 is an easy par 5 and should be a birdie or a kick in par. I push my 2nd shot a bit (6 iron) into the green side bunker. My ball had come to rest in a footprint the size of a hub cap. The ball was against the edge of the print in the face of the bunker about 5″ below the surface.

It took the biggest swing I had in me to just go sideways and get the ball out of the bunker. I don’t get up and down for par. 1-2 shot swing.

It’s so simple but some people are clueless on the course so here’s some advice for you bonehead hackers or careless people who don’t seem to appreciate the game:

1. If you happen to get in a bunker, rake it when you are done.
2. Replace your divots.
3. Fix your ball marks on the green. I try to fix my ball mark and at least two others on every green.

Come on folks! Help make the game more enjoyable and do these simple things.

This week’s winner for fantasy golf is The Undaunted Duffer! For his efforts this week Bedford wins a box of Swing Juice golf/sports drink.

To see the current stats click the link below the sponsors. Speaking of sponsors, everyone click through here to them so they’ll see some traffic and want to sponsor our league next year!

We’re 8 weeks from knowing who the first winner of a Nintendo DS with True Swing Golf is. By the way, it’s still not too late to join and get in on tons of great prizes!

READ MORE ->>

This is probably the 2nd to last report from my TM demo day last week.

I got the chance to hit some shots with the TaylorMade TP Blades. I don’t even know the name of these babies. They’re not even listed on TM’s web site yet so I’m calling them the TP Blades. I was told that Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen play them.

These are most definitely blades. The heads are small. The top line and profile is thin. If you like that Callaway shovel look at the bottom of the club then these aren’t for you. If you miss-hit a lot of shots these also aren’t for you.

Major feedback

My first swing with the 8-iron was an instant feedback event. Zing-buzzzzzzz and half my fingers went numb. I’d miss hit the shot about a half an inch toward the hozel. Ouch. I really concentrated on making contact in the center of the club face from that point on.

Throw some darts

The rest of my shots were right on the center of the face and boy were they butta. This baby flew straight as a laser beam. My dispersion pattern was very narrow. The ball flight was very high. These babies launch the ball on a very high trajectory and with precision accuracy.

Werk it baby

When I wasn’t trying to hit it straight these blades worked like nobody’s business. I could fashion any kind of curve I wanted in either direction.

Conclusion

Though I didn’t get to put these blades through my typical in depth testing I can tell they’re primo clubs. If you are a “player” I’d check these out. If you are a “playa” and not a “player” then I’d recommend some game improvement clubs.