New Photo Gallery: Shepherd’s Hollow Golf Club – Clarkston, Michigan

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, July 7th, 2014
Categories: Golf Courses • HOG World Tour • Life • Travel
Tags: Michigan Golf

On my recent Hooked On Golf Blog World Tour stop in Michigan I had the pleasure of playing the Arthur Hills designed Shepherd’s Hollow Golf Club. Humidity was 100%. It was so humid driving there that we had to use the windshield wipers, despited it not actually “raining.” The rainy and cloudy conditions made capturing decent photos difficult. It also made capturing pars and birdies difficult.

Shepherd’s Hollow Golf Club – click to view more photos

Despite the gray skies, I’ve posted a Shepherd’s Hollow Golf Course photo gallery here for you to check out.

Ecktron Performance – Coolest Driver Head Cover in the World

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, July 3rd, 2014
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Gear • Reviews
Tags: Ecktron Performance

Ecktron Performance HOG Head Cover

I must admit that I have the world’s coolest and most unique golf driver head cover on this planet, and probably many other planets as well. Look at this beauty (right).

Ecktron Performance is responsible for making this fantastic looking head cover. Until Ecktron Performance came along, the only way to get your custom logo on a driver, putter, hybrid, fairway cover would be to order them by the dozens or even the hundreds from China. Now one can get one-offs, single units made at a very reasonable price.

This cover is great looking, yes. But it also has some very nice padding which protects that driver investment well. When people dump hundreds of dollars (or pounds) into drivers it is wise to protect that investment.

Price and Process

The process of getting your own custom head covers is easy. There’s an order page where you can upload your graphic, create custom text, select color schemes and styles. Pay your $36 bucks and you’re good to go.

$36 bucks is a fantastic price for such a great product with very high quality custom embroidery. Look how awesome the Hooked On Golf Blog logo translated to the cover!

Related Links

Ecktron Performance website

Hooked On Golf Blog Ecktron Performance image gallery

Hooked On Golf Blog EP scorecard wallet review

Beating the Heat on the Golf Course

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014
Categories: Golf • Golf Accessories • Golf For Women • Golf Gear • Instruction • Miscellaneous

This morning I’m not feeling very well. I walked a round of 18 yesterday in 97 degree temperatures and I’m a bit dehydrated. Big headache in the right eyeball. Feels like Joe Pesci is crushing my head in a vice. I also feel a little dizzy. The weather forecast yesterday was for cooler temperatures, and I was not set up well for the higher temps that did occur. I need to get into summer mode. Here are a few of the things I do in the summer to beat the heat.

Hydrate

During yesterday’s round I drank three bottles of Gatorade and it was not enough. It is extremely important from a health standpoint to stay hydrated, and it helps the golf game too. Sports drinks are better at hydrating you than water.

It can take a bit of time for fluids to enter your bloodstream as well. Start hydrating before the round.

Protection

Use an umbrella for shade

Protecting one’s self from the sun is important all the time, but especially in the summer. Yesterday I could feel my arms getting fried. I was not prepared with sunscreen. I also failed in the apparel script area, wearing a black shirt.

Wear white in the summer. White does not absorb and store the heat like black does. It helps reflect it.

I also wear a big hat in the summer, like a cowboy hat. The brim keeps the sun off my face, ears, and neck.

Sports sunglasses are very important as well, to protect the eyes from harmful UV rays.

With my golf pushcart I attach my umbrella to provide more shade.

Moisture Wicking Golf Apparel

Use moisture wicking apparel in the heat

Technology in golf apparel over the last decade or so has advanced tremendously. One great quality added to many golf apparel items is “moisture wicking.” This is a process where the fabric is designed to pull moisture off of the wearer’s skin, and move it to the outer surface of the fabric where it will evaporate.

I’ve reviewed countless moisture wicking golf shirts, golf socks, and other garments.

Towels

In the summer heat I like to carry at least two towels on the bag. One towel is a clean dry towel for wiping sweat off of my face and hands, or wherever else. A second towel I’ll keep soaked with water and use it around my neck and on my head to keep cool.

There are also some very interesting products similar to chamoises like the Frogg Togg Chilly Pad, which hold water and keep you very cool.

Accessories

There are some fun golf accessories out there which help keep you cool on or off the course. One such accessory which can help is the Personal Golf Fan.

I have a unit in for review and it is time to start testing it!

Be a Dew Sweeper

Hit the course early in the morning, before the heat of the day. Not only is it cooler, the pace of play will be faster. As an added bonus, most golf courses are at their best aesthetically in the early morning. The term for playing golf very early is being a “dew sweeper.”

Lay Off the Booze

Many people like to enjoy a tasty beer or other alcoholic beverages on the course. In the summer heat, the booze will hurt you. Alcohol will accelerate your dehydration. Save it for the 19th hole.

Location

Consider the golf course you choose to play in the heat. Is it wide open with no trees or shade? In the summer heat, choose a course which has trees and shade.

Final Thoughts

Golfing in the heat can be fun if you are well prepared. The course may be less busy too.

If you have other ideas for beating the heat, comment them!

University of Michigan Golf Course Photo Gallery

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014
Categories: Golf • Golf Courses • HOG World Tour
Tags: Michigan Golf

I’m just now getting to checking out some of my photos from the HOG World Tour stop in the Detroit, Michigan area two weeks ago. I played some fabulous golf courses over the four days I was there. The first course was the Alister MacKenzie designed University of Michigan Golf Course. What a great place.

University of Michigan Golf Course

I’ve uploaded a new gallery. To view the gallery, click the image above or click the following link to the University of Michigan Golf Course photos.

TaylorMade SpeedBlade Irons Review

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, July 1st, 2014
Categories: Golf Clubs • Golf Equipment • Golf Gear • Reviews
Tags: TaylorMade

SpeedBlade Pitching Wedge

When asked by TaylorMade to review their new SpeedBlade Irons, I was very candid with them about whether the clubs were a fit for my game. As a 2-3 handicap a more appropriate set of irons might be some forged blades, forged muscle backs, or muscle cavity backs. SpeedBlades are cast, a slightly different process which results in a club which feels and performs quite differently than forged. The SpeedBlade irons are meant to benefit players with higher handicaps than mine. My candidness was fine with TaylorMade and they were cool with the fact that I might not be sold on them at the end of the review. That is the case. These will not make it into my gamer bag. But, that is not to say the irons don’t perform as advertised. They certainly would be beneficial to a player in 10 and up handicap range. Let us take a look.

SpeedBlade Irons Overview

The SpeedBlade iron set is a work of engineering across all the clubs. Each individual club has its own design characteristics with regards to center of gravity location, loft, face thickness, club length, and in the “Speed Pocket” found in the 3-7 irons.

What is a “Speed Pocket” other than another marketing buzz phrase? It is a design property which helps players who hit shots low on the face. That would be an overwhelming percentage of players in the handicap range from 5-25. The result of those low strikes on the face is low trajectory. The Speed Pocket helps those players launch the ball higher. When asking most of the players I know who play the SpeedBlades, their primary reason for using them is that the irons launch the ball higher.

Other design characteristics of the club include a sharp looking gray matte finish, and head structure designed to absorb vibrations.

Notice the Speed Pocket on the 7-iron but not on the 8-iron – click to zoom

Fitting

Part of the process I went through with the SpeedBlades was a fitting at my local TaylorMade Performance Lab. If you’ve never done one of these fittings I highly recommend it. In the TMPL, the tech puts a bunch of reflectors on your body and the golf club. Sensors in the room use the reflectors to create a 3D rendering of your body and your golf swing. The swing can be analyzed from every imaginable angle, and compared side-by-side or 3D overlayed with other tour players like Dustin Johnson. At five foot nine and very limited flexibility due to a bad back, the 3D overlay of Dustin’s swing and mine were needless to say, slightly different.

The granny over the top dual chicken wing golf swing rendered in 3D!

The fitting can be quite educational and beneficial for one’s game, regardless of what golf clubs one has.

At the end of my fitting the computer spit out the perfect specs for my swing and game, and the perfect set of irons, the TaylorMade Tour Preferred MB. Since the tech knew I would be getting SpeedBlades, the system also produced the perfectly matched set for my swing as well. Standard lies and shaft lengths, but two degrees flat.

On The Course

In the 2013 U.S. Open the shot of the tournament was Justin Rose’s 4-iron on the final hole. He was one of the only players in the field to reach that green in regulation. His clutch par there helped him claim his first major championship. That 4-iron was a SpeedBlade. I can feel Justin on this. The 4-iron of the SpeedBlade set was quite amazing for me. In fact, on one shot to an elevated par-4 from 225, I hit it so well I was past the green about 15 yards. The thing is long, as is the rest of the set. That length is due to many factors like the club head design, slightly longer shafts, and strong lofts.

Sharp looking sticks!

The rest of the set delivered as promised. I was hitting 7-irons on a trajectory that looked similar to what I’d see on my other irons from a 9-iron. I’ve never hit irons that high.

As suspected however, I missed the feel of forged irons and the feedback they produce. Players who play forged usually want the feedback in the form of vibration and sound. The SpeedBlades work to reduce that vibration, therefore produce less feedback. This made it tough for me to tell if I was hitting the sweet spot or somewhere else. A double digit handicapper probably does not want that vibration though.

Conclusion

The TaylorMade SpeedBlade irons do deliver massive distance and very high trajectories, just as advertised. While not the right clubs for my game (the granny over the top dual chicken wing 2-handicap), I was impressed with the extra distance and high launch I gained when playing them.

SpeedBlade Irons – 4-Iron is LOOOONG!

Just like Justin Rose, I may put that 4-iron (pictured above) in the bag with my forged muscle back irons. I may not win the U.S. Open with it, but it might help close out that intense $2.00 nassau.

Related Links

HOG TaylorMade SpeedBlade iron photos

Older posts

Newer posts

« Previous 1 … 249 250 251 252 253 … 1,165 Next »