Bandon Dunes Day Three

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, July 13th, 2018
Categories: Golf • Golf Courses • Golf For Women • HOG World Tour
Tags: #GolfBlogWorldTour • Bandon Dunes

Hurting now. It’s a good kind of pain. After playing 76 holes of golf in very windy conditions, on hard ground with tons of elevation changes… I’m hammered.

Today was another spectacular day, as it seems all days are at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. The 7am tee time was our first round on Pacific Dunes. Pacific Dunes is a Tom Doak design. Doak is one of my favorites.

Pacific Dunes

Following the round at Pacific Dunes, we had a great lunch in the Pacific Dunes clubhouse.

The afternoon round was a repeat of Old MacDonald Golf Links. “Old Mac” played a little less crazy today, vs the non-stop 30-40mph winds we had a couple of days ago. An enjoyable and challenging walk with a ton of elevation changes.

Old MacDonald – 18th Hole

It was hard to keep concentration up and hit good golf shots as the day progressed. It is easy to push it hard here at Bandon Dunes.

This evening hit “The Punchbowl” for a friendly putting competition. The Punchbowl is a huge putting area with severe sloping, and 18 actual holes to play. Think the Himalayas at the Old Course in St Andrews.

The Punchbowl

Tomorrow our group decided to take some time to rest in the morning and not play a full 36 holes. We will play Pacific Dunes in the afternoon after recuperating in the morning. I’ve decided to do some “research” on the spa here, and get a massage to work out a lot of my stiff back and leg muscles.

Bandon Dunes Day Two

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, July 12th, 2018
Categories: Golf Courses • Golf For Women • HOG World Tour
Tags: Bandon Dunes

It’s late and I’m super tired but here’s a quick recap of day two for the HOG World Tour stop in Bandon Dunes, part of the #GolfBlogWorldTour. Search for the #GolfBlogWorldTour hashtag on social networks!

This morning at 7am we teed off on Bandon Trails. “Trails” is a fantastic, scenic course with tons of elevation change. The course was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

Bandon Trails

Above is the first hole of Bandon Trails, first out.

Below is a highlight shot from the afternoon round at the original Bandon Dunes course, a David McKlay Kidd design.

Bandon Dunes

This week is a week of quick recap posts with a photo or two. Playing 36/day and trying to find time to do anything else other than sleep and eat is challenging. Stay tuned each day this week for more updates, and later down the road for some more detailed reviews and articles.

Bandon Dunes Day One

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, July 11th, 2018
Categories: Golf Courses • HOG World Tour
Tags: #GolfBlogWorldTour • Bandon Dunes

Too tired and too late to post much today, and likely the rest of this week. As part of the #GolfBlogWorldTour, the HOG World Tour visited Bandon Dunes for the first time today. I played Old MacDonald and the par-3 13-hole Bandon Preserve.

Old Macdonald

Bandon Preserve

I will try to do a few social posts per day and more blog posts following the trip. With 36 walking holes each day, time is short and when I’m not playing I need to either be sleeping or eating.

2018 Srixon Z-Star Golf Ball Review

Written by: Tony Korologos | Sunday, July 8th, 2018
Categories: Golf Balls • Golf Equipment • Golf For Women • Golf Gear • Reviews
Tags: Srixon

For the last couple of months I’ve been gaming the 2018 Srixon Z-Star golf ball. I’m not sure the exact number, but I estimate I’ve played around 32 rounds with the 2018 Z-Star. So this review isn’t a typical fly-by “try one sleeve” review. During this testing period my play has improved greatly; not just because of this ball, but also because of more practice and even some changes in clubs as well. It’s a team effort. I’ve shot my lowest nine hole score in years, and won three consecutive matches in one of my match play brackets. Also placed 8th in my City Amateur tournament. I can game the Z-Star and confidently know the high performance the ball will provide for me.

Construction

The Srixon Z-Star golf ball is a a 3-piece or 3-layer golf ball. Each layer provides certain performance characteristics in terms of spin, aerodynamics, distance and feel.

Z-Star 3-Layer Construction

From the inside out, the first layer is the core. The Z-Star’s core employs “Energetic Gradient Core Technology,” E.G.G for short. This provides feel, compression, distance, and premium launch conditions. The firmness of this layer varies from softer in the middle to harder farther from the center.

A set of dual thin layers make up the outside area of the ball. These layers provide feel, spin and flight characteristics/aerodynamics through a 338 “Speed Dimple Pattern.” The outer cover of the ball is made from Urethane, the magic ingredient in “Tour” performance golf balls. By “Tour” I mean a golf ball that PGA Tour golfers would play. Urethane provides short game spin and a large portion of the ball’s feel and control.

Unfortunately Urethane isn’t very durable. Srixon addresses this issue with “Spin Skin Coating.” This coating increases durability and provides even more spin/control in the short game and even on shots coming from the rough.

The new Z-Star has a compression rating of 88. Former models were at 90. This makes the ball feel slightly softer and decreases unwanted driver spin, which helps increase driving accuracy. “Compression” isn’t rated much anymore, but in the old days of golf a 100+ compression ball would be considered best for faster swing speeds while 80+ would be for slower speeds. With today’s technology golf balls can have lower compression but still be suitable for higher swing speeds.

On The Course

Long Game

The feel of the Z-Star off the driver is terrific. I can feel the ball compress. My driver swing speed is probably around 95-100mph.

It took some getting used to the Z-Star when I switched. The previous ball I’d been using was slightly harder, had a different dimple pattern and lower ball flight. It was more of a low arc, shorter carry, then roll out. The Z-Star I instantly noticed had a higher ball flight, carried farther, dropped quicker and rolled less. While the overall distance is about the same, the entire ball flight was different. I’m not saying one is better than the other. Just different.

Iron Game

The Z-Star shines in the iron game. The soft feel really translates to being able to sense the contact and control the shots. With the Z-Star I’m able to carry the ball a little longer while watching it stop quickly, and even back up depending on the iron and green conditions. Working the ball (moving the ball left-to-right or right-to-left) is fun and easy with the Z-Star. I can manufacture shots when needed, like having to hit a low power-cut under some trees.

Short Game

Perhaps the best part of playing with a Z-Star is the tremendous short game performance the ball provides. I’ve had some great results in my short game after putting the Z-Star in play. I’m able to feel and control short game shots very well. The Z-Star has great bite on pitches and chips.

On longer short game shots I’ve managed some super spin. On one shot in a tournament I found myself 85 yards to a back pin. I flew my lob wedge over the green into some rough, but the ball had so much spin it came back out of the rough and rolled back to pin-high. I haven’t had spin like that since I can remember.

Putting

The Z-Star feels great on the putting surface. The soft cover and core translate to great feedback and feel off the putter. I have enjoyed great distance control in extremely varying putting conditions from slow and most to dry and fast.

Durability

I’m extremely impressed with the durability of the Z-Star. The previous ball I’d been using also had a Urethane cover, but after even 9-holes and several wedge shots the damage to the cover would require me to replace it. Even with super-spin shots like that 85 yard lob wedge I mentioned above, the Z-Star shows nearly no signs of wear!

Durability Pop Quiz

Which of the two Z-Stars below was played for 36 holes?

If you answered the right ball, you are correct. If you answered the left ball, you are also correct! Both of the Z-Stars above had been played 36 holes.

Final Thoughts

If I was only allowed to play the Z-Star the rest of my golfing days, I’d have absolutely no problem with that! The 2018 Z-Star performs tremendously across all aspects of the game, from long shots to short game. And for a Tour quality ball, I’ve found no other which can compete in terms of durability. At $39/dozen and based on how long they last, the cost/performance per shot of the Z-Star is unmatched.

How to Make Tiger Woods vs Phil Mickelson for $10,000,000 Truly Interesting

Written by: Tony Korologos | Saturday, July 7th, 2018
Categories: Golf • Miscellaneous • PGA Tour • Pro Golf • Tiger Woods
Tags: Phil Mickelson • Tiger Woods

The hot golf news over the last few days is that there will be a pending winner take all golf exhibition between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The winner will take home a cool $10,000,000. That’s great and all, but there’s no thrill in this if the money is simply coming from sponsors of the event and advertising revenue.

My Proposal

People wonder how pro golfers can be so relaxed when playing for so much money. The reason is they’re playing for someone else’s money. The best way to make this Tiger/Phil event interesting would be to make each player bring $10,000,000 OF THEIR OWN MONEY to the event. The $20,000,000 pile of cash would then be on display for the fans to google over, and the players would (hopefully) get a little squirmy knowing that THEIR cash is on the line. The look would be cool. Security guys, Brinks truck…the whole deal.

I know I get nervous when I’m playing to keep my own money, especially when it is a $2.00 Nassau and there’s a press going on the final hole. Nothing makes your butt cheeks tighten up over a 3-foot putt like knowing it’s to save yourself from losing $4.00.

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