The hip thing in the last couple of years in the golf world is the three wheeled push cart. Gone are the old days of the Bag Boy pull cart. I own several Bag Boy pull carts, including a deluxe model that comes with a seat.
I’m a golf purist, but my bad back doesn’t want me to throw my bag over my shoulder and carry like a purist does. The awkwardness of having my arm behind me and pulling the two wheeled cart is almost as bad on the back.
Last winter I had a couple hundred bucks in prize money to cash in, so the pro told me to pick up a Sun Mountain Speed Cart. I’m sure glad he suggested the Sun Mountain cart.
The push cart has actual rubber tires with inner tubes and comes with a pump. The cart glides very smoothly and goes easily over rough terrain for those times you miss the fairway. You stand up straight and push the cart which is much better than leaning over and pulling it. “It’s better to push a cart than to pull it.” Sounds like an old Volkswagen commercial.
Since the cart stands up on it’s own 3 wheels, it has a brake just like the ones on your bike. You must use the break on a hill or you’ll get some extra exercise chasing your cart.
There is a small storage bin for you to put keys, power bars, wallet, cell phone etc. On top of the storage bin is a bracket that holds your score card and a pencil. Below the bracket is a drink holder. You can adjust the height of the push handle and of the front wheel to your taste, which makes pushing the cart very easy.
Most of my golfing buddies have the Sun Mountain push cart. I have the yellow one. We compete on the golf course to see who can push their cart down the fairway the farthest.
Your golf bag mounts very easily to the cart. When you’re done the cart folds into a compact shape to fit in even smaller trunks. The trunk in my car is quite small and the cart and a medium sized tour bag fit just fine.
A note about Sun Mountain’s excellent service: When I purchased my Speed Cart it was a floor model from the pro shop. Someone had stolen the pump and also bent the door to the storage compartment. I called Sun Mountain and they gladly shipped me the parts at no charge. Not only that, they didn’t even ask me for a receipt.
I’d rate the Speed Cart an 8/10. It is one of the best pieces of golf equipment you can buy and is extremely well built and solid. I’ve seen cheaper models from other companies. Side by side the Speed Cart blows them away.
Sun Mountain
http://www.sunmountain.com/
MSRP $210
72 holes with my first BlackMax ball and still going! Somehow I’ve managed to play 4 straight 18 hole rounds with ONE ball. Two of the rounds were 73 (one good enough for 3rd in a local tournament).
The most amazing thing about this ball is the durability. I’m going to get a digital photo of the ball I’ve used. Aside from some wearing of the decoration, the ball is quite undamaged and still playable. I’m going to just keep playing holes with this ball until I either lose it or wear it out.
I’ve said in all of my reviews that the iron play with this ball is amazing. The feel off the irons and the accuracy I seem to have is great. My distance control is right on. This may be due to the fact that my iron game is solid right now or that the ball is just that good… Perhaps it’s a little of both.
All 4 of the rounds I’ve played with this ball have been in moderate to heavily windy conditions. I’ve used the Callaway HX Tour in windy conditions and the BlackMax is every bit as good, if not better in the wind.
Until my last round played I wasn’t sure about the supposed distance of this ball because my driver just wasn’t working well. This last round I finally resolved that question with some very solid drives. One of my pals that I play with is a BIG hitter. He plays either the HX tour or V1X. If I am “on” with my driver I can usually hit it as long as him or at least within 5-10 yards. On this day he was hitting the “new” V1X. We both have the 983K drivers with the same YS6 firm shaft. Two occasions he crushed his driver and was a good 20 yards in front of me. One occasion we both crushed our drives into the wind and I was 10 yards in front of him. The final occasion we both hit pure drives straight downwind on a par 4 (410 yards). The two balls were exactly 40 yards from the green. (Yes that’s 370 but the wind was strong and the ground very hard).
I don’t play the V1X as it feels way too hard for me. When I play the V1 my buddy is MUCH longer than I am. When I played the BlackMax we were neck and neck. So I can conclude that this ball is a long ball. I would say it is much longer than a V1, and about even with a V1X or HX Tour. I would also say that this ball is better into the wind than the V1X.
Chipping for me has been terrible as of late (shaking off the winter rust), but my putter has been strong. I’ve always liked the feel of a V1 off the putter better than an HX Tour and the BlackMax feels just as nice. I would say for me, there is just a little less spin around the greens than a V1 more than an HX Tour.
This ball definitely beats the HX or V1 in it’s value. I can barely play 9 holes without rendering an HX tour unplayable with some full wedges or short irons. The V1 is more durable than the HX for me. I can play around or two but if I hit a ton of full lob wedges I can scrape the cover right off. The BlackMax does not wear like that. For a premium ball I can get much more play per dollar out of the Maxfli, provided I don’t lose it.
Lose it? I can’t lose it. I’ve knocked it OB 3 times. I’ve knocked it in the “forest” 2 times. I’ve bounced it off of fences and skipped it over lakes. I’ve hit it left handed twice and nailed several trees.
72 holes and going strong….How many holes will I go before I lose it or deem it unplayable? My next round with it is this Thursday…
| Vijay Singh had a 2 foot putt to continue the playoff with Padraig Harrington on the 2nd playoff hole at the Honda Classic. I almost fell out of my chair when he missed that two foot putt. Vijay is as close as it gets to a golf machine and very seldom does he miss a putt like that. |
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So Harrington (63) defeats Vijay (64) and Joe Ogilvie (who lasted one playoff hole) to win the Honda Classic and $990,000.
Rather than winning the $990,000, Vijay has to settle for a mere $494,000.
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Sarah is eliminated after scoring a 7 on a par 3 over water that was about 175 yards.
This was an interesting episode for a few reasons.
1. First I believe this episode showed the weaknesses of these players. As a male golfer I was very surprised that on some drives they couldn’t even hit their drives 220 yards. Their driving accuracy wasn’t much better.
2. I did think their flop shots were fairly good. They all hit many shots very close but the green looked really soft.
3. Their chipping in this episode was terrible. Perhaps it was nerves.
4. The crotch shots in the driving competition were an OBVIOUS ploy to get more viewers. How many times did they practically zoom in on pelvic regions of the women wearing short skirts? Don’t get me wrong, as a red blooded male I’m all for it…
Bridgestone is suing Titleist over supposed patent infringements. They’ve apparently been “discussing” said infringements for “months” with no settlement. Bridgestone claims Titleist (Acushnet) balls including Titleist® Pro V1â„¢, the Titleist® Pro V1xâ„¢, the Titleist® NXTâ„¢, Titleist® NXT Tour, the Titleist® DT SoLo, and the Pinnacle® Exceptionâ„¢ golf balls are all in violation.
I wonder if it is just a coincidence that about 1 week before this news becomes public, Titleist announces completely “New” versions of their golf balls. Did they change the manufacturing process or some technology in the “new” version to avoid further claims from Bridgestone?
My pals over at The Sand Trap cover this in a little more detail.
Jason (you know who you are): You guys must be sitting back in your chairs laughing…
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