Lorena Ochoa has retired from the LPGA

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
Categories: LPGA Tour
Tags:

Wow this is quite a big and sudden deal.  Lorena Ochoa, #1 female golfer, announced that she’s retiring.  Must be nice to be able to retire at the age of 28.

More details and hopefully the reason she’s retiring will be announced on Friday.

Press release below (click read more).

(more…)


Nike Method Putter Model 001 Review

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, April 19th, 2010
Categories: GolfGolf ClubsGolf EquipmentGolf GearReviews
Tags:

This is post #1 of 2010 HOG Putter Week!

Once again, this review is another of the many cases of “being a golf web geek doesn’t suck.”  My daunting and difficult task is to test out the very hyped up and popular Nike Method putter, mine being the model 001.  Yes, being a golf web geek can be a rough go sometimes, but someone has to do it.

Many people are comparing the quality level of the Nike Method putter to that of a Cameron.  I didn’t even know Cameron made putters.  I thought he was a film maker.  You know, Terminator Two, Aliens, Titanic, Avatar…

Nike Method Putter Model 001 Construction

The Method putter has a multi-material face.  “Flowed through low durometer Polymetal Groove Technology” (that’s what I was going to say) dampens vibrations and gives the club a soft feel.  The “interspersed milled steel face” gives audio feedback which helps the player control distance.

What does all that mean in plain English?  The putter has a soft and buttery feel.   The physical and audible feedback gives the player a closer connection to the stroke, the ball and the proper club head speed to deliver the ball the correct distance.

Extreme heel-toe weighting via Tungsten inserts makes the MOI (moment of inertia) of the putter very high and increases stability of the head during the stroke and especially impact.

Rock & Roll

I can roll the rock fairly well.  Ask any of my victims golf buddies.  Putting with the Method is a joy.  I can sense and see that the ball is rolling very quickly off the putter face and not skidding.  The previously mentioned Polymetal Groove Technology gets the ball rolling end over end much faster than a regular putter and I can definitely attest to that.  The roll is pure and there’s not much initial skidding like on many other putters.

Looks

The Method 001 is a sharp looking putter, similar to that of a standard heel-toe weighted blade.  But looking closer reveals many finer details than you’ll find on any standard heel-toe offering.

The finish of this putter is a very nice gray/silver color.  The bottom is chrome.   The milling in the face, the bottom and the back is very sharp and precise.  The face not only has the large Polymetal Grooves, it has thousands of tiny milled round diamonds.  See the face image below:

Feel

One of the first tests I do with putters is to simply see if the putter “wants” to stay square during the stroke.  I’ll just take a few lightly gripped swings and see what the weighting feels like and what angles that weighting wants to take the head.  Due to the distribution of more than 30 grams of weight in the heel and toe, the Method 001 wants to stay square.  This is a good thing.  If the person putting goes to sleep a tiny bit, the putter will still tend to stay square, resulting in the ball starting out on the right line.

The softness of the face is noticeable.  It feels like you can sense the split second that the ball is in contact with the face.  In fact that contact feels longer.

Grip

The grip is an old school pistol grip style, but with a tacky rubber which I really like.

The grip is crucial, as it is where the player connects to the putter.  Without a good connection and feel through the grip, the best milling and design in the world can’t help make putts.

Head Cover

No zipper: check.  No stupid Velcro: check.  No wacky, nutty, clunky design: check.  The head cover passes the test.  It is classy looking, functional and best of all, easy to use.

Conclusion

Though the golf world didn’t necessarily need another heel-toe weighted blade, the Method 001 should be strongly considered when looking for a new putter.   All aspects of this club, from aesthetics to feel to performance, are at the highest level.

Related Links

HOG Nike Image Gallery (more Method putter pictures and other Nike products).

Nike STR8-Fit vs TaylorMade R9.


First ever HOG PUTTER WEEK

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, April 19th, 2010
Categories: Golf ClubsGolf Gear
Tags:

I’ve got roughly six putters in my review queue.  I thought I’d do something special and dedicate a whole week to putters, posting one putter review per day.  I’ll be reviewing some amazing putters, some crazy putters (like the HOG 14 ball putter pictured), and some putters that just make me ask the three letter question: WTF?

Stay tuned.  Putter review #1 is coming shortly!


Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-04-18

Written by: Tony Korologos | Sunday, April 18th, 2010
Categories: Miscellaneous
  • 73 and sunny. I WILL be golfing today. Hope the game can come around. #

Srixon Z-Star Tour Yellow

Written by: Tony Korologos | Sunday, April 18th, 2010
Categories: Golf BallsGolf EquipmentGolf GearReviews
Tags:

My last 10 rounds or so I’ve been testing out the new Tour Yellow Srixon ZStar.  I’ve gotten some interesting comments from other golfers about playing a yellow ball.  Some think it is cheesy and ask me why I’m playing a range ball on the course and some say it looks cool.  The ball itself is very highly visible and bright, and especially easy to see on the course.  The one guy who made fun of it two days ago was thinking otherwise when I shot a 73 with the thing for my first round of the year at his club.

Is there something to the color?

This ball isn’t just yellow.  It is green, yellow and looks to have some sort of metallic looking flakes or crystal in there.  The ball is highly reflective.  It is much easier to spot this ball from 200 out than a white ball and Srixon actually has factual data to back that up.  According to them, yellow is the most visible color in the visual spectrum.  I’m sure they didn’t realize how redundant that statement is, because I’m sure there isn’t a “most visible color not in the visible spectrum.”  Ahem. (more…)


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